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Ohio State Fair

3.9 (114 reviews)
Closed 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago

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Princess Wanda with her ribbon bounty.
Laura F.

Was at the fairground not for the fair but for a huge four day dog show in Nov. each day had over 1000 entries. Lots of breeds. Lots of fun. Free admission. Its fun to walk around and see all the dogs.

Tracey's Onion Rings - AWESOME!
Erick W.

What an unexpected and awesome surprise. I was in the area for business and a co-worker's daughter was showing her livestock - so I popped over to the fair to see my friend's daughter and also to see her cows. The fair was an awesome diversion from work - the food was great - the midway was amazing and the folks were friendly everywhere I went! The Ohio State Patrol has a huge (friendly) presence to keep the crowds pleasant and the whole show was awesome. I cannot say enough good things! This Arkansas guy, came to the Ohio State Fair while on business for the Belgian company he works for. Only in America! Go Hogs - O H I O & God Bless America!

Dan Orr singing at the Gazebo.
Nancy L.

I love the Ohio State Fair! Yes, it is crowded and somewhat expensive but I pick and choose where I am going to spend my money. I looked at the schedule ahead of time,which is posted online, to plan for activities and entertainment. Seniors get in free on Senior day! I very much enjoy the booth that sells the Dole Whip - my favorite! Who doesn't love the baby piglets? I could spend hours in Kasich Hall enjoying the miniature doll houses, decorated cakes, and crafts. Spend a few hours or spend the entire day but go to the fair.

Yum!
Jayme H.

After a few years off due to COVID, the Ohio State Fair is officially back this summer! I happened to make it for the first time last weekend and had a really good time. I went with my boyfriend and his three nieces so to say we had our hands full would be an understatement. Parking wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, same goes for entry. It ended up being about $40 for us all to get in. The moment you walk through the gates the fun begins. We started with face painting and the girls absolutely loved it. From there, we headed towards the rides. For unlimited rides, the cost got up there. We had to stay at least three hours to get the bang for our buck.. At least 5-6 rides to make it worth the money. As for food, what's not to love about fair food? Prices were much lower than I expected too. We got a couple lemon shake ups and tried the onion blossom, French fries, fried oreos, and a funnel cake. The kids approved of everything they tried and I was incredibly satisfied with my onion blossom (my fav fair food). Overall, the fair experience is definitely one to remember. The girls loved their first ever visit to a fair and I enjoyed my first time at the Ohio State Fair. Until next year!

Kate C.

The food was amazing. The fried cheese on a stick and deep fried buckeyes are FANTASTIC! There are a lot of animals, including a petting zoo. They had some fun rides and a lot of variety of food too. There were a lot of great shops (leggings, purses, hair accessories, salsas, etc.). This is a must do for us every year! We also pre-bought our tickets through Ticketmaster for $2 less per person online (this was advertised on Facebook a few weeks before the fair). We were able to skip lines doing this. Also, if you are seeing one of their shows (we saw Fluffy), you get into the fair for free, which is awesome! The inside area also had some kick-butt amazing gyros (Greek Food restaurant). The amount of food they gave was ENORMOUS and super tasty. Lastly, I highly recommend hitting up the corn dog stand by the slides (in the back). They have light-bulb drinks with free refills and a really sweet guy that is decked out in Spongebob gear (he was the sweetest)! We will be back every year for this!

Fair looks open to me
Rich G.

Honestly, I went for the nostalgia, the memories I had growing up in Columbus. The Demolition Derby, tractor pull, the concerts were free with your admission... the real giant slide. So much has changed. There are food booths for everything under the sun it seems- Turkey legs, elephant ears, even fried buckeyes, but read the fine print- MANY vendors charge extra to use a card. I'm not too much into the rides, but it was fun to watch people go on them. The expressions of people are so worth it. With the Ohio Highway Patrol HQ and training. Center on site there was obviously a large presence of patrolmen on site throughout the fairgrounds, and that was a good thing. Loved the exhibition halls we went through though- saw some of the sheep judging (6-8 month old ewes) and it was my wife's first time seeing something like that. (She didn't grow up in the States) BUTTER COW! Still cool (see what I did there). But the $4 scoops of Friendly ice cream were the smallest scoops I think I have ever gotten anywhere. Seriously!!! Soooo small I swear they were scooped with a Mellon baller, not an ice cream scoop. The concerts are listed online, they are also on the marquee outside the venue. Lots of variety. Liked that they still have the State Fair Marching Band- they played a few times around the fairgrounds. The parking was free and easy to get to, they had trams to take you to some lesser used gates and I recommend using them as courtesy is NOT something you will find by the people trying to cut in line to get in. Overall, this may be the last year I go to the fair.

Ellen M.

Pros: Finally back after being on hiatus for 2 years during the pandemic Still the same ol greasy fried foods and turkey legs People watching is still so much fun Great concerts All the animals! Pig racing, petting zoo, livestock competitions So many vendors to buy from Free parking! Cons: Not too many ways to pre-buy tickets so be prepared to wait in long lines to get in Can be crowded, but hey, it's the Fair Turkey Legs are now $18 - ack!!! Pro tip: Be sure to stop by and see the Butter sculpture and the Craft competition halls

Main entrance
Amanda M.

Awesome for kids I go to county fairs and other state fairs and they all vary so much I wasn't sure what to expect. This fair is by far the most kid focused fair I have ever been too. Every building had something geared towards kids. Lots of food options. The Ohio state parks section was by far the best. You easily could have spent several hours just in that section. Parking in the cardinal lot wasn't that bad. Just prepared to spend the whole day walking!

This was my worst experience with The Ohio State Fair!! Dirty! plane dirty. not enough workers!! I didn't see one person cleaning up the ground. I slipped on a slice of pizza and almost tripped on a whole lemon. Trash everywhere. For such a family event the amount of marijuana I inhaled from teenagers was ridiculous. Their were so many young children who should not have been exposed. This was a huge disappointment for me as this was always a great childhood experience! it was so much better with whoever you guys contracted with before!! *** BRING THEM BACK***

Deanna C.

This was my first year going and I loved it! Never realized how big it was. There's so many food options, actives and animals to see. Truly a fair for all ages

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11 months ago

The Living Zoltan was fantastic!! He is off beaten path, but you should make a plan to go see him and tell him your wish.

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Ask the Community - Ohio State Fair

Where to eat?

Everywhere! Come early and stay late to try everything. My first stop Ohio Grown Roast Corn. I've hit the mini doughnuts near 11th for 39 straight years. This year will be 40.

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Review Highlights - Ohio State Fair

Milk-a-Cow- Right outside of the Butter Cow building, this is your chance to milk a real live cow!

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North Market Ohio Wine Festival

North Market Ohio Wine Festival

3.9
(18 reviews)
2.3 mi

Soooo much fun!!!…read more As my first year in Ohio, this was a great experience for me!! Not being familiar with any of the local wineries, this was a great way to introduce me to them and find out which ones I want to actually go visit. I LOVE wine... remember, you need several servings of fruit a day... grapes are a fruit... wine is made from grapes!!! Therefore, wine is good for you!!! As for the location at the North Market... what a great combination!! After tasting 20+ wines, one does need a bit of a snack to go with all those grapes... Can't wait to go again next year!! Thanks Columbus for making moving here so much fun!!

I was pretty excited when I realized the wine festival was happening the weekend I had planned a…read moretrip to Columbus. I love wine and I love the North Market so this seemed like the best combo possible, right? Not so much. There was just now enough room between stands to stand, socialize, drink wine, and then move on. Had the event been held in the massive parking lot owned by the North Market, I easily would've given it 5 stars. Honestly the wine and merchants there were AWESOME but you just couldn't enjoy anything you were drinking unless you totally left the vendor areas between every single sample. Perks that totally made it worth going: 1) Great vendors-- I especially loved the Wisconsin hard cider booth. Bangin' sangria! And honestly you can never go wrong with Ohio wines! 2) There was a free photobooth sponsored by Crave 3) Entry came with a $5 coupon for the North Market...which basically gives you an excuse to get Jeni's ice cream. And any excuse to get Jeni's is a great excuse. All in all, yes if I was ever in Columbus the weekend of the wine fest, I'd go again. But the wine fest sponsored by Giant Eagle in Cleveland is much better.

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Get beer at the Barrel and Bottle.
Get beer at the Barrel and Bottle.
North Market Ohio Wine Festival
North Market Ohio Wine Festival

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The Columbus Food Truck Fest

The Columbus Food Truck Fest

3.3
(19 reviews)
3.1 mi

Live Music, Food trucks galore, and various Art & Crafts, Vintage and other vendors everywhere! Got…read moreto love it. What an awesome time and recommend going if you can. Located downtown Columbus on The Scioto Mile or Scioto Peninsula or whatever we are calling it but it's downtown positioned around Cosi. We took a ride share in but there was plenty of garages around for parking. I found it easy in and out of the festival. We enjoyed a variety of delicious foods, including burritos, empanadas, crunch wraps, nachos, funnel cakes, popsicles, and ice cream. We visited: Big Pappy's BBQ Spanglish Latin Street Food Empanadas and More Rime Time Pops Glaze'em Gourmet Funnel Cakes Johnson's Real Ice Cream Music was great, the crowds were tolerable but very busy. Only complaint is that you could not just get a water or pop. You had to purchase tickets and it had to be purchased just like the beer and alcohol. All beverages required a ticket, individual trucks could not sell drinks, and the lines were long at the beverage tents. Not a fan of this design. My pro-tip is to bring cash. You can save money as the vendors we went to factored card charges and there were two sets of prices upon payment (cash vs card). Also, several beverage ticket areas - i recommend the one by Junto. It never seemed to have the crowd the others did. Check it out. The festival is here through Sunday. For more info, check out https://columbusfoodtruckfest.com/

I'm a bit late with this review but the festival was kind of underwhelming this year. It was in…read moreHilliard and lacked the atmosphere and vibrancy of it being downtown. We went on a Sunday and honestly it was pretty boring, just walking around in a circle looking at the trucks and vendors. We tried some food from a Brazilian truck and that was probably the best food we had all day. Everything is super pricey now and most of the food was okay at best. I spent close to $30 on a plate and beef patty from ire jam grill and it was probably my least favorite thing I ate. Idk man Caribbean/Jamaican food in Columbus is not it. Also any time I go to a festival the first thing I look for is funnel cakes. No offense to the ladies with the glaze em gourmet funnel cakes truck there, but sometimes the classics are the way to go, just a normal funnel cake with some powdered sugar, without all of the frills. I wound up ordering one from them anyways for my son at close to $16, all of the toppings, glaze and extras just made it soggy. The icy paw and empanadas and more food trucks were probably the best ones I tried. I'm kind of torn about going next year, spent way too much on food I didn't like.

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Chris H. & Les R.
Chris H. & Les R.
The Columbus Food Truck Fest
Les R., Sean C., Jeremy G., & Chris H.

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Les R., Sean C., Jeremy G., & Chris H.
Comfest

Comfest

4.3
(75 reviews)
2.1 mi

With the festival taking place at Goodale Park, it's pretty much in my backyard and impossible for…read moreme to avoid. Last year I was out of town but, this year I made sure to give it a visit. The weather was sunny and hot all weekend but the spirit of Comfest rang true. Food, drink, music, art, local businesses, and good people having a damn good time. What's not to love? I spent most of my time lounging under a tree with friends on patched together sheets and blankets. That was definitely the best part, just passing time with good friends. Yes, we saw naked folks and the smell of weed was rather consistent, but this is the perfect atmosphere to just let go and not worry about everyone else. Just do you! When it came to the food, I enjoyed pizza from Late Night Slice, fries from one of the fair food stands, and hummus and falalel from Lavash. There were so many choices it was hard to settle. I also saw ice cream, baked goods, funnel cakes, etc. A good mixture of local restaurants and fair food stands. There was a little something for everybody. On top of all that, I also loved seeing how clean the park was kept and how much programming there was for the kiddos. Living in the neighborhood, it's nice to see that its taking care of and family friendly. Pro tip - make sure you find safe parking. I saw way too many cars getting towed in front of my house for silly things like parking in front of a fire hydrant or handicap ramps.

This year was my first time going to ComFest and I had a great time! It's perfect for families and…read moreall ages. There were tons of food trucks, vendors, and bathrooms. I loved the live music and everyone was there to have a good time. It's a good group of people that go and tend to all have similar interests. Definitely will be back next year!

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The Ark Band
The Ark Band
Comfest
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Music
Egyptian Festival

Egyptian Festival

4.6
(5 reviews)
7.8 mi

Excellent, fairly small but busy festival. Parking is tight- there's a lot across the street and…read morewe lucked into a spot, but many people were parking around the corner. Food was the draw for me, and there was plenty and a good variety. I ended up with a combo: steak kebab, macaroni bechamel (a sort of lasagna made with penne, bechamel, ground meat, and no tomato sauce,) a meat pie (ground beef in phyllo dough,) tabouli, hummus, etc. I asked for cabbage rolls, and I think they were extra. They were thinner than I'm used to but pretty much the same thing, filled with meat and rice. All this and a drink was $17, and I couldn't finish it (I came close.) There were lots of kids there, and kid activities, so Baby K was happy. She started dancing as soon as we got there, to the Egyptian music playing. There was a petting zoo and horse rides. There was face painting. She loved it all. We missed out on dessert, but it looked good: baklava and other pastries. We toured the church, also small but very nice. Everyone was very friendly. For a free community festival, it was great. Mostly church members, probably, but eager to show off their culture. I'll be back.

Fast, friendly service. Reasonable prices. Great atmosphere. Lovely church. Super nice people…read more Safe environment for families. Excellent food

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Inside the church before the sanctuary
Inside the church before the sanctuary
Bousbousa which is like the best coconut cream pie cake with nuts you ever had in your life!
Bousbousa which is like the best coconut cream pie cake with nuts you ever had in your life!
Food tent left.  Dessert tent right

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Food tent left. Dessert tent right
Lithopolis Honeyfest

Lithopolis Honeyfest

4.8
(6 reviews)
16.9 mi

Always a fun time, and although this year it was a little gray, it seemed at it's largest so far. I…read morehave been 3 times I think now and I always walk away with lots of honey and bee-themed goodies, being as we keep bees at our house too (its a lifestyle, just bee :). The end of the summer is a perfect time to stock up on beeswax candles for the upcoming cozy, mystical autumn days-- I'm so glad I did that this year! After we shopped, we checked out a mead tasting in the library just off of the main road and had a blast trying all the different flavors. I walked away with a bottle of orange blossom honey raisin mead for myself plus an extra bottle to include in a wedding gift. A new vendor addition was a shaved ice truck that had honey drizzle for all of the shaved ice. Yum! It's, of course, always a little more fun if it's sunny given the theme, but I still had a great time this year too.

Super fun, quite a large festival for a small town. Loved how involved the whole fest was…read more Attractions, educational demonstrations, honey samples galore, meade tastings, popcorn, corn dogs, bubble tea, artisinal crafts, and face painting, live music, and Im sure I am forgetting a lot. Great traffic averting as well because it was blocked off in a way that didn't disrupt the flow of traffic. Lithopolis Ohio showed itself off with this honey festival.

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Lithopolis Honeyfest
Lithopolis Honeyfest
Cheeky vendors are the best! Vendor is "Trinket Designs for You" of Canal Winchester!

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Cheeky vendors are the best! Vendor is "Trinket Designs for You" of Canal Winchester!

Ohio State Fair - festivals - Updated June 2026

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