Chillicothe & Ross County festivals are definitely a hit with family fun and entertainment. Most festivals feature live entertainment, queen pageants, handmade items, and special auctions. The festival season in Ross County begins in May and continues through October!
Feast of the Flowering Moon
Chillicothe, Ohio’s first capital city, rich in Indian history, hosts the annual Feast of the Flowering Moon Festival. Started in 1984, the festival draws crowds of approximately 85,000. Yoctangee Park, in historic downtown, makes a perfect setting for this family oriented three-day event featuring Native American music, dancing, traders and exhibits, a mountain men encampment rendezvous with working craftsmen and demonstrations, an extensive arts and crafts show with over 80 crafters and commercial exhibits. Entertainment is continuous on the main stage with good food, fun, games and contests for the whole family to enjoy. This is an educational experience for the entire family.
Frankfort Sunflower Festival
This three day festival takes place in Frankfort, Ohio which is only 15 miles from downtown Chillicothe. During the festival you can find wonderful hand crafted items, jewelry, pottery, antiques, crafts and many more items. The community churches and organizations come together and serve home cooked style meals and treats. Many Ohio food vendors set up for this festival to provide the community with the traditional “festival food.”
The Frankfort Sunflower Festival provides their unique touch to the festival offerings in Ross County. During the festival, community members enter their home grown sunflowers for the Flower Contest, a kids’ tractor pull, car show, and a strongman contest.
Live entertainment is continuous during the festival. During the day you will find performing arts at the stage and firehouse and end the night with bands performing on the stage.
Salt Creek Valley Festival
Salt Creek Valley Festival is held in the village of Richmond Dale which is only 14 miles from downtown Chillicothe. During the festival you can find plenty of food vendors, history displays in the Community Building, face-painting, rides and much more.
Enjoy the Mini, Little Miss and Little Mister pageant followed by live entertainment on the stage at the festival. Most recently, McGuffey Lane, Scott Collier, and the winners of the Ross County Idol has performed on this stage.
Apple Harvest Open House
For a day of family fun on the farm, join members from Hirsch Fruit Farm for the Annual Apple Harvest Open House. This two-day open house is held on Saturday and Sunday in September and features orchard tours. Attendees have the opportunity to pick their own apples right from the trees during the open house.
There will be horse-drawn wagon rides, apple butter making, maple syrup, food, face painting, apple and cider tasting, barnyard buddies to pet, make-your-own scarecrows and more. For your fall decorating, we will have pumpkins in all sizes, gourds, Indian corn, fodder shocks, straw bales and hardy mums.
Chillicothe Halloween Festival
The newest festival in Ross County is the Chillicothe Halloween Festival presented by Southern Ohio Events. This three-day festival takes place in the beautiful Yoctangee Park in downtown Chillicothe the second weekend of October.
The Chillicothe Halloween Festival celebrates all the excitement of the Halloween and fall season with live entertainment, merchandise vendors, concessions, rides, special exhibits, contests and much more.
Fall Festival of Leaves
The Fall Festival of Leaves festival was started over 40 years ago and continues to offer entertainment to Ross County every October. The festival is held in Bainbridge, Ohio which is located less than 20 miles from downtown Chillicothe.
During the Fall Festival you’ll find continuous entertainment on the stage, plenty of food vendors throughout the festival, booths featuring handcrafted items and much more. The festival offers attendees additional fun with carnival games and rides.