Dayton Events

Dayton’s calendar is anchored, inevitably, by aircraft.

Dayton Air Show — late June or July

The city that invented the aeroplane holds one of the larger air shows in the United States, over a weekend at Dayton International Airport. The programme mixes military demonstration teams — the Thunderbirds or the Blue Angels in most years — with warbirds, aerobatic performers, parachute teams and a static display that visitors can walk among. It draws crowds in the tens of thousands, and its significance here is not incidental: the show is held a few miles from the field where Wilbur and Orville Wright worked out controlled flight, and the air force museum and the base are part of the same continuous story. Tickets sell in advance, parking fills early, and the heat and the lack of shade on the flight line are the main practical considerations.

Dayton Celtic Festival — late July

Three days on the riverfront, free, with music, dance and food — one of the largest Irish festivals in the country and genuinely well attended.

Hamvention — May

The largest amateur radio convention in the world, held nearby at Xenia, drawing many thousands from across the globe.

Dayton Funk Music Hall of Fame events — various

The city celebrates its 1970s funk lineage with concerts and inductions, and the downtown walk of fame marks the bands that came out of a handful of local schools.

Wright brothers anniversaries — through the year

The national park sites programme talks, demonstrations and flying events.