things to do in central ohio

It is Opening Weekend of the Ohio State Fair. The MLS All-Star Game may have come and gone, but there is more big name soccer in Columbus. Plus more in The Weekend Warrior.

It is America's Birthday! We have fireworks, baseball, soccer, patriotism, and the arts this weekend.

Local 4th of July Fireworks: https://www.10tv.com/article/entertainment/events/4th-of-july-fireworks-...
Experience Columbus: https://www.experiencecolumbus.com/blog/post/fourth-of-july-celebrations...
Northland Parade: https://northlandparade.org/
Doo Dah Parade: https://www.doodahparade.com/
Clintonville Fourth Preview: https://www.clintonvillespotlight.com/articles/fourth-festivities-bring-...
Fireworks Mix XIV: https://wcrsfm.org/content/djbc-fireworks-mix-xiv-beautifully-djbc500

PARADES:
JULY 3 (Weather Permitting):
Red, White & Boom!, Starts at Bicentennial Park, 5:30PM

JULY 4 (Weather Permitting):
Bexley ("Beautifully Bexley"); Starts at 9:30AM at Maryland Elementary School
Delaware: Starts at 3PM at Delaware County Fairgrounds
Dublin ("Let Freedom Ring"): Starts at 11AM at Metro Place, ending at South High Street and Waterford Drive
Gahanna ("A Red, White, and Blue City"): Starts at 10:30AM at Clark Hall
Groveport: Starts at 10:30AM at Glendening Elementary School
Hilliard ("Celebrate the Red, White and Blue"): Starts at 9AM at Franklin County Fairgrounds (with Grand Marshal Libby Gierach, former Director of the Hilliard Area Chamber of Commerce)
New Albany (Starts at 11AM at New Albany Middle School)
Northland ("Diamonds of Columbus"): Starts at 10AM at Karl Road (just north of Morse Road, ending at Karl and Hempwood Drive at Karl Road Baptist Church)
Orange Township: Starts at 10AM at Olentangy Orange Middle School
Pickerington: Starts at 10AM
Reynoldsburg: Starts at 10AM at Main Street and Rosehill Road, ending at Davidson Drive
Westerville ("Red, White and Blue. America. For Me and You."): Starts at 10:30AM at St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church
Whitehall ("The Future of Whitehall Is Bright"): Starts at Yearling Road and E. Broad St.
Worthington Hills ("Totally '80s")

FIREWORKS:

The Weekend Warrior for June 19, 2024

Events:
The German Village Haus und Garten Tour - "A Modern Twist on a Classic" (Pre-Tour on Saturday; Tour itself on Sunday June 23 from 9AM to 4PM)
The Hilltop Bean Dinner (June 22 at Westgate Park in The Hilltop/Westgate)
The Powell Festival (June 21 & 22; Fireworks at 10PM on June 22 at Village Green Park in Powell)
Franklinton Night Market (June 21 outside Wild Goose Creative, Franklinton)

Juneteenth:
Freedom Fireworks (6/19 at Dusk; Columbus State Parking Lot - Long St. & Washington Ave.)
Whitehall Freedom Celebration (6/22 at 4PM; John Bishop Park)
Westerville We Rise Juneteenth (6/23 at 12PM; The Point at Otterbein University)
Black Author Spotlight Heritage (6/23 at 1:30PM; Martin Luther King Library)
(Reynoldsburg, Hilliard, and Bexley Juneteenth took place before the airing of this segment on WCRS on June 18, 19, and 19, respectively)

Pride:
Rainbow Reynoldsburg Pride (6/22 at 4PM; Huber Park)
Granville Pride (6/22 at Denison University)
Westerville Pride (6/22 at State & Home Streets, Uptown Westerville)
Gahanna Pride (6/26 at 4PM; Hannah Park)

Sports Ball:
Columbus Crew vs. Sporting KC (6/22 at lower.com Field)

Theatre Roundup:
The Lion King (Ohio Theatre in Downtown Columbus)
Chicken and Biscuits (Actor's Theatre, Schiller Park in German Village; NOTE: Performances are weather dependent; please check beforehand)
It's A Wonderful Life the Radio Play (Otterbein Summer Theatre at Otterbein University in Westerville)
Big Fish (Little Theatre Off Broadway in Grove City)
The Pirates of Penzance (Opera Project Columbus at The Lincoln Theatre in King-Lincoln Bronzeville)
The Music Man (Arena Fair at Willis Theatre in Delaware)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (The Abbey Theater in Dublin)

Music:
BANNED! (6/22; Columbus Gay Men's Chorus at the Davidson Theatre, Vern Riffe Center in Downtown)

We got Pride, Juneteenth, and 614 Day this weekend. Also arts festivals in Grove City and Worthington, a Jazz Festival in Gahanna, an air show at Rickenbacker, plus more.

Juneteenth:
Juneteenth on the Avenue (June 15 - Mount Vernon Avenue between St. Clair Ave. & 17th St.)
Jubilee Day (June 16 - Ohio History Connection)
Juneteenth Ohio Festival (June 15 & 16 - Genoa Park)
Reynoldsburg (June 18 - Huber Park)
Bexley (June 19 - Jeffrey Mansion Carriage House)
Hilliard (June 19 - Roger A. Reynolds Municipal Park)
New Albany (June 19 - Hinson Amphitheatre)
King Arts Complex (June 19)
Freedom Fireworks (June 19 at Dusk - Columbus State Parking Lot in Discovery District)

Pride:
Festival & Resource Fair (June 14 & 15 at Goodale Park)
Parade (June 15 at 10:30 SHARP)
Bat N Rouge Softball (June 16 at Dodge Park)
CAPA presents Pride Anthems (June 16 at the Southern Theatre)

Here is what is happening this weekend.

Hops on High/Gallery Hop - The first of three Gallery Hops where High Street is closed off, will kick off Pride Month on Saturday June 1. (The other two are September 7, to celebrate 40 years of Gallery Hop, and once again, December 7 for Holiday Hop,) For June, High Street will be closed between Starr and Fifth Avenues.
Olde Towne Art Walk - one of two Art Walks in Olde Towne East this year, Bryden Road will be closed off between Parsons and Garfield, and 700 Studios will be open as well.

Pride Events:
BEXLEY - Pride Walk (May 31 at 5:30PM, starts at Main & Drexel; COTA - Line # 2)
DELAWARE - June 1 & 2 at Boardman Arts Park
SHORT NORTH - Hops on High (June 1 from 12-8PM; High Street between Starr and 5th Avenues; Closest Buses - # 1, 2, and 5 - There will be re-routes, go to http:///www.cota.com, or download the Transit App)
WORTHINGTON - Sunday Funday: Worthington Pride (June 2 from 12-6PM; High Street between South Street and State Route 161; Bus - # 102 - runs every 60 minutes on weekends)

Theatre Events:
Beauty and the Beast (Actor's Theatre)
Hair (Short North Stage)
Theatre Roulette: 25th Anniversary (MadLab - FINAL WEEKEND)
Man of La Mancha (Weathervane - OPENING Weekend)

Sports:
Columbus Clippers vs. Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Huntington Park; through June 2)
CORRECTION - Columbus Crew at CONCACAF Finals in Mexico (June 1)
Halfway to Beat Ohio Day (May 30; #TheGame on November 30 at Ohio Stadium; Michigan is looking for their first four-game winning streak against their little siblings since 1991; Ohio is looking to just cheat their way to the top again)
The Memorial Tournament kicks off on June 4 at Jack's Place, the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin (http://www.thememorialtournament.com)

And these events:
Porchfest (June 1 from 1 to 7PM in Central Bexley) (Closest Buses - Line 2 or 10)

Memorial Day Events:
Bexley - Ceremony at Drexel Circle (5/27) (Bus - Line 10)
Driving Park - Rickenbacker Woods Memorial Day Event (5/25) (Bus - Line 1)
Dublin - Ceremony at Dublin Veteran's Park (5/27)
Grandview Heights - Blue Star Ceremony (5/23) & Parade (5/25) (Closest Bus - Line 3, 5, or 22)
Groveport - Heritage Park (5/27)
King-Lincoln Bronzeville - Parade (5/25), starts at Long & Washington (Closest Bus - Line 10)
Worthington - Parade (5/27), followed by Ceremony
Field of Heroes - 5/24 at 5PM to 5/27 at 1:30PM at 325 North Cleveland Avenue, Westerville (http://www.fieldofheroes.org) (Bus - CMAX)
National Veteran's Memorial & Museum (http://www.nvmm.org) - Ceremony 5/27 at 10AM

Columbus on the Cheap: https://www.columbusonthecheap.com/memorial-day-parades-around-columbus/

Other Events:
Fountain Fest at Bicentennial Park (5/24)
Family Fun Day at Columbus Commons (5/25)
Strawberry Jam at Land-Grant (5/25 & 26)
Bexley Jazz in the Park/Food Truck Festival at Havenwood Park (5/27) (Bus - Line 1 or 2)
4th Friday in Uptown Westerville (5/24)
May Madness (5/25) at Boardman Arts Park in Delaware
Velvet Ice Cream Festival (5/25) at Velvet Ice Cream in Utica
Whitehall Summer Kickoff (5/24) at John Bishop Park in Whitehall

Actors' Theatre - "Beauty and the Beast" (opens 5/23, weather permitting; http://www.theactorstheatre.org)
Short North Stage - "Hair" (http://www.shortnorthstage.org)
MadLab - "Theatre Roulette: 25th Anniversary" (http://www.madlab.net)