Tis the season for the smells of cotton candy, bourbon chicken, cheese on a stick and funnel cakes. Yes, you guessed it, it’s that festival time of year. The time we all have been waiting for, like the bear that hibernates for the winter and emerges to find nourishment to get him going for the year.  Okay, okay…the stuff I mentioned may not have a lot of nutritional value but it is sooooo good.

Over the years I have had the privilege to go to some truly unique festivals throughout Ohio. All of them are so different and have their own style and personality, no two festivals are the same! It’s for this reason that every year I get excited and enticed to go to more.

There is a festival for just about anything you can think of, Sweet Corn, Wild Turkeys, Blueberries, Bratwurst, Strawberries, Fish and Honey just to name a few. Ohio has over 2000 festivals throughout the state.

Most festivals have rides and games for children, crafts, commercial products and main stage entertainment. Some festivals are unique and have working demonstrators and crafters displaying their craftsmanship. Some display farm machinery and some utilize their waterways into their festival.

Chillicothe and Ross County has five festivals that take place throughout the year.

• The Feast of the Flowering Moon in Chillicothe’s Yoctangee Park, which features Native American dancers, music, traders and exhibits.
• The Sunflower Festival in Frankfort, which features the farming community of the area and of course sunflowers.
• The Salt Creek Valley Festival in Richmond Dale, is a community homecoming type festival featuring entertainment on the main stage.
• The Chillicothe Halloween Festival in Chillicothe’s Yoctangee Park, features everything Halloween, from coffin races to costume contests.
• The Fall Festival of Leaves in Bainbridge, which celebrates the beauty of the region.

With no traveling in 2020 due to covid-19, I am ready to get my festival groove on safely in 2021 and try some amazing foods, sweet treats and of course some strawberry lemonade. Looking forward to seeing people interacting and enjoying an outdoor event with a little “normalcy”. My summer goals for 2021 is “Festivals, family, fun and fresh air”