August in Ohio is sizzling with fun events. From Farmer’s Markets to fun festivals to the much anticipated Ohio State Fair, you’ll find plenty of events to help you make incredible memories before the kids head back to school.
Ongoing Events Throughout the Month of August
- The Sandusky Gazebo Concert Series features free concerts every Tuesday in August at Washington Park.
- Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra offers a Neighborhood Concert Series, a free series of concerts held throughout the region in the summer months.
- The Cleveland Orchestra also hosts the Blossom Music Festival in July and August, with live music and picnics on the grounds.
- Celebrating 50 years of outdoor performances, the Tecumseh Drama Company in Chillicothe has performances running from June 16 through September 4th. Witness the story of Tecumseh, a Shawnee leader, at the Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre.
- Celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Ohio Caverns with the Discovery Lantern Tour, offers from June 2 through August 31.
- Cedar Point Nights kicks off on July 29 and runs through August 21. Nightly glow beach parties feature fire pits, lounge chairs, and lawn games.
- The Ohio State Fair comes to Columbus from July 27 – Aug 7. With rides, entertainment, food, and agricultural demonstrations, this is the festival of the summer. Check your local county for county fairs kicking off this summer as well.
- The Cleveland Zoo hosts the Asian Lantern Festival every Wednesday night through August 17. Enjoy live acrobatic performances, culturally-inspired cuisine, and dramatic lantern displays. An additional admission fee is required. This is one of my family’s favorite events!
- In Ashtabula County, head to the Great Lakes Medieval Faire, running every weekend from July 9th through August 14th. In addition to performances and festival food, themed weekends in August include a Celtic Celebration on August 6 and 7, as well as a Superheroes theme on August 13 and 14.
Batter Up!
August is also a great month for baseball! From Major League baseball in Cleveland and Cincinnati to budget-friendly minor league games around the state.
- The Cleveland Guardians are northern Ohio’s Major League Baseball team, based at Progressive Field.
- Southern Ohio has the Cincinnati Reds, another Ohio MLB team, playing at the Great American Ballpark.
- Minor League games are a great family outing, often with more affordable tickets and concessions. Minor League teams in Ohio include the Akron Rubber Ducks, the Dayton Dragons, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the Columbus Clippers, Toledo Mud Hens, and the Lake County Captains.
Weekend Events and Festivals
August 4 – August 7, 2022
- While not an event or festival per se, the State of Ohio offers a tax-free back-to-school shopping weekend from August 5 until August 7. Many school supplies and even clothes will be tax-free, so it’s a great time to plan a shopping weekend.
- Alliance, Ohio is known as the Carnation City and is host to the Greater Alliance Carnation Festival. From August 4 through August 14, there are pageants, parades, tours, food, music, and more!
- In Washington County, Belpre will be hosting its 90th Belpre Homecoming Weekend on the first full weekend of August. There’s a bike show, a car show, a foot race, a parade, and pageants. Food and fireworks round out the festivities.
- Voted the best Akron festival for ten years in a row, the Summit County Italian American Festival is held August 4 through August 6 at Lock 3 in downtown Akron. Enjoy fireworks, live entertainment, and amazing Italian food.
- Hippie Fest comes to Hocking Hills the weekend of August 6 and August 7; enjoy live music, food, a car show, and crafts like tie-dying. This is a family-friendly event, with lots of Bohemian vendors to peruse.
- Another Hocking Hills festival to check out is the Bigfoot Festival in downtown Logan. Hear from expert speakers, and join a “squatch walk” with other Bigfoot believers. (Later in the year, Creature Weekend is another great Bigfoot-themed festival.)
- Head to Wolf Creek Mill in Loudonville for the 18th Century Colonial Trade Fair. This family-friendly weekend offers a glimpse of the past, with demonstrations, camping, and period clothing. Get a discount off admission by wearing an 18th-century costume.
- Church festivals are a staple of small towns across Ohio, including the St. James Lutheran Brats & Crafts Festival in Columbus. For 38 years, this festival has featured polka music and dancing, German food, beer, and a craft fair.
- For Irish festivals, you can miss the Dublin Irish Festival in Dublin, Ohio. Set in Coffman Park, this is billed as the largest three-day Irish festival in the world. Live music, sports, kids’ activities, plus merchandise and food vendors round out this fun cultural celebration.
- The Vintage Ohio Wine Festival is held on August 5 and August 6 at Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland. Sample a wide variety of wines from Ohio vintners, as well as food, cooking demonstrations, live music, and shopping!
August 11 – August 14, 2022
- Since 1975, the All Ohio Balloon Festival has taken to the skies over Marysville in the greater Columbus area. In addition to several fun-shaped hot air balloons, the festival also includes live music, carnival rides, and food!
- In Southeast Ohio, the Rivers, Trails & Ales Festival kicks off on August 11. See why Marietta is the #1 recreation destination in Ohio. Enjoy yoga, guided hikes, scavenger hunts, bike rides, kayak tours, and of course, local brews!
- Whether you drive a Jeep or admire them from afar, you won’t want to miss the 5th Annual Toledo Jeep Fest. In addition to an all-Jeep parade, there are races, food, vendors, and camping.
- Ohio’s largest Civil War reenactment takes place at Hale Farm in Summit County. In addition to the battle reenactments, you’ll also hear interpretations of free and enslaved people from the era. Trades like blacksmithing and glassblowing will also be demonstrated.
- Formerly known as the Dan Emmett Music & Arts Festival, the Mount Vernon Music and Arts Festival celebrates the arts with family-friendly activities and performances. Activities include a motorcycle & car cruise-in, concerts, food, and arts and crafts.
- What’s not to love about four acres of sunflowers in bloom? The Coshocton Sunflower Festival celebrates the joy of friends, family, and sunshine. If you’re looking for Instagrammable photos, this is the place! They also have live music, food trucks, a beer garden, and craft vendors.
- Genoa Park in Columbus is home to Festival Latino, a family-friendly event celebrating the Latin cultures of Ohio. Enjoy children’s activities, music, dancing, art, and of course, amazing Latin food.
- Aircraft and aviation fans won’t want to miss the Props and Pistons Festival in Akron. Events include a kids’ zone, food trucks, live music, a veteran’s ceremony, and a car show. The main attraction is the air show and the opportunity to ride in several different types of aircraft.
- Eastern Ohio is home to the Shaker Woods Festival in Columbiana. Now in its 41st year, the festival features over 200 juried craftspeople exhibiting arts and crafts from the Shaker period. Daily entertainment and food vendors round out the offerings.
- Cambridge is also home to an arts and crafts festival this weekend. The Salt Fork Arts and Crafts Festival at Cambridge City Park features juried artists, craft classes, live music, storytellers, plus food and refreshments. I have many fond memories of this festival as my family used to go every year when I was little. My grandma and grandpa loved this event and picked up many keepsakes.
August 18 – August 21, 2022
- Celebrate the arts in Southeast Ohio at the Appalachian Arts Fest in Corning, Ohio. The event features live music, DJs, painting, workshops, and flow/fire performances.
- The Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival is a three-day event that started in 1968. Besides all-you-can-eat bratwursts, there’s a craft show, 5k color run, nightly parades, pageants, and an art show.
- For all kinds of amazing food, head to the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Hilliard for the Columbus Food Truck Festival. This foodie festival is now in its 11th year, and every year gets bigger and better. In addition to dozens of food trucks from around the country, the festival also features live music, arts, crafts, and retail merchandise.
- In the northeast corner of Ohio, Conneaut is home to D-Day Conneaut, a historical reenactment of the D-Day events at Normandy Beach. This is a ticketed event with over 1,400 reenactment participants. A great educational opportunity!
- The Dayton African American Cultural Festival is a great way to learn about the many African cultures of Ohio. The celebration has live music, storytelling, an African village, a kid’s corner, an African wedding, and plenty of fantastic food.
- Just outside Dayton, the Fairborn Sweet Corn Festival celebrates the sweetcorn harvest with classic American BBQ-style food, entertainment, kids’ activities, and arts and crafts. It wouldn’t be a corn festival without a cornhole tournament and a corn-eating contest!
- For good, old-fashioned fun, head to Lexington, just outside Mansfield for the Lexington Blueberry Festival. Enjoy carnival rides, pageants, parades, movies in the park, a car and motorcycle show, live music, and lots of blueberry treats!
- The city of Mentor in Northeast Ohio hosts a two-day festival that’s fun for the whole family. Mentor CityFest has interactive entertainment, games, activities, over 20 food vendors, and more! There’s also a parade Saturday morning and a color run on Saturday evening.
- Another Southeast Ohio Festival is The Parade of the Hills in Nelsonville. This family-friendly festival features a 5K, fiddlers contest, pie auction, parades, and beauty pageants.
- Just outside Cleveland, South Euclid Rock the Block is the biggest party of the summer. The festival lineup includes great music acts, from country to yacht rock. A variety of food, fair games, and carnival rides round out the attractions of this family event.
August 25 – August 28, 2022
- Put-In-Bay is a great spot for a country music festival. Bash on the Bay features big acts like Brad Paisley and the Zac Brown Band, plus tons of other great acts during this two-day festival. Access the island via Miller Ferry or the Jet Express ferry from Port Clinton will run special ferries after the concert.
- Love spicy food? The Columbus Fiery Foods Festival is for you! Head to the Main Street Bridge on the Scioto Mile for some of the hottest and spiciest food from around the country. Pre-register for one of several eating contests: hot wings, hot pizza, and hot peppers are on the menu for these hot competitions.
- For a different kind of spice, Cleveland is hosting the Cleveland Garlic Festival. In addition to garlic fries and local craft beers, there’s a kids’ area with a climbing wall, live music, a Miss Garlic pageant, and a Top Chef Grill-Off.
- The beautiful Clifton Gorge will be hosting the Clifton Gorge Music and Arts Festival this last weekend of August. Live music, glass-blowing demonstrations, art and craft vendors, and a beer tent are just a few of the highlights of this summer festival.
- Malvern in Eastern Ohio is home to the Great Trail Festival, a celebration of American Folk Art and Crafting. Now in its 41st year, this festival occurs over the last weekend of August and the first weekend of September. Enjoy food, music, fiddlers, bagpipes, tomahawk throwing, plus historic lectures and demonstrations.
- The village of Ripley in Southern Ohio is host to the Ohio Rural Heritage Festival. The weekend kicks off Thursday evening with pageants and live music. Other fun events of the weekend include a Golden Girls pageant, parade, bed race, 5k run/walk, military display, and a rubber duck race.
- The Dayton suburb of Kettering is home to the Ohio Valley Orchid Fest, a must for any gardener or florist. In addition to an orchid show and orchid sales, there is a full weekend of food trucks, family activities, speakers and auctions.
- As fall approaches, German festivals start to pop up all over the state. The earliest one is the Germania Society Oktoberfest in Cincinnati. Now in its 50th year, the festival features German food, traditional German dancing and music, plus games and souvenirs for the whole family.
I hope we’ve given you some ideas on things to do during the month of August. If you’re still at a loss on what to do, I encourage you to visit the website of your local visitor center and see what’s happening in your own area. And don’t forget those local attractions that you may have simply overlooked in the past.
Do you have a favorite event that takes place every August in Ohio? Share it below so we can check it out too.
