Greenville Events

Greenville’s year is organised around the agricultural calendar and one festival of its own.

The Great Darke County Fair — late August

Nine days at the fairgrounds, and by a wide margin the biggest week of the local year. It is one of the largest county fairs in Ohio, with around 300,000 visits, and it remains a genuine agricultural show rather than a funfair: junior exhibitors show cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry and rabbits they have raised themselves, there is harness racing on a half-mile track, and the junior livestock sale at the end of the week is where the year’s work is settled. Around that sit the grandstand concerts, the tractor pulls, the home arts and produce halls, and an enormous quantity of fair food. Families book their week around it, schools work around it, and for anyone who wants to understand how rural Ohio actually functions this is the single most informative thing in the county.

Annie Oakley Days — late July

The town’s own festival, with a shooting contest, a parade, a historical reenactment and a queen contest, held in her honour since the 1960s.

Gathering at Garst — August

A living history event at the museum, with encampments covering the frontier and treaty period.

Bear’s Mill open days and craft fairs — through the year

The mill runs seasonal events and a gallery programme, and the surrounding villages hold craft and produce fairs, particularly in autumn.

Hometown Holiday Horse Parade — late November

Draught teams and carriages through the square to open the Christmas season.