Columbus Events

Columbus has a crowded summer calendar and one autumn ritual that overshadows everything.

Ohio State home football — September to November

Seven or eight Saturdays a year on which the city is transformed. Around 105,000 people fill the stadium, one of the largest in the world, and several times that number are in the city for the day — tailgating in car parks from early morning, the marching band performing its script formation at half-time, and an entire population in scarlet and grey. The rivalry game against Michigan, played in late November and known locally only as The Game, is among the most intense in American sport, and when it is at home the city books out for a hundred miles. For a visitor it is worth seeing even without a ticket: the campus and the surrounding bars on a home Saturday are the single most characteristic thing Columbus does.

Ohio State Fair — late July and early August

Twelve days at the state fairgrounds, one of the largest agricultural fairs in the country, with livestock, butter sculpture, concerts and a great deal of fried food.

Columbus Pride — June

Among the largest in the Midwest, with a march through downtown and a festival afterwards.

Columbus Arts Festival — June

Three days along the riverfront, free, with several hundred juried artists, several stages and a large food programme — one of the better-regarded outdoor arts festivals in the country.

Gallery Hop — first Saturday monthly

The Short North galleries open late and High Street fills; it has run since 1984.