Find Fantastic Festivals for Late Summer and Fall in Ohio
The National Hamburger Festival August 12-13, 2006 Akron, Ohio
Head for Akron, Ohio to celebrate one of America’s best loved sandwiches the hamburger. Over twenty restaurants, both local and national, will create their specialty burgers to salivate over. A mock trial will be held on Saturday, August 12th to decide once and for all which of four families from four different states invented the hamburger. Sign up to “bob for burgers” and grab as many burgers as you can from a ketchup filled kiddy pool in three minutes using only your mouth. Bite into a hamburger eating contest or just relax and savor a burger while listening to live music with a tribute to the “Cheeseburger in Paradise” guy, Jimmy Buffet.
Carnation Festival: August 10-20, 2006 Alliance, Ohio
The scarlet carnation is the Ohio state flower, thanks to the urgings of Dr. Levi L. Lamborn of Alliance, Ohio. The good doctor was a connoisseur of beautiful flowers and grew carnations in his hot house as a hobby. He also ran against William McKinley for a congressional seat. Before each political debate, Dr. Lamborn offered a carnation to his opponent, William McKinley. McKinley defeated Dr. Lamborn, but believing the carnation brought him good luck he continued wearing one in his lapel as he rode the political vehicle to governor of Ohio and eventually to the White House as president. In 1904 the scarlet carnation was made the state flower.
Alliance holds the Carnation Festival in honor of being the town that brought the carnation to the state of Ohio with, of course, a flower show. Ice cream socials, musical entertainment, “Pops in the Park” with the Alliance Symphony Orchestra, a Mayor’s breakfast, and a parade are just a few of the amusements to be discovered at the Carnation Festival.
Milan Melon Festival: September 2-4, 2006 Labor Day Weekend Milan, Ohio
Gear up and get ready to eat melon, spit out the seeds and have a grand time in Milan Ohio celebrating, melon. The two town specialties are watermelon sherbet and musk melon ice cream. Sounds deliciously different! Who could go wrong with a chicken barbeque, a melon eating contest, a parade and arts and crafts to peruse and buy? A down home Ohio festival that’s sure to please.
Wellston Coal Festival September 5-9, 2006 Wellston, Ohio
The streets of downtown Wellston bid welcome to the world as they proudly celebrate their rich coal mining heritage. Take a tour of a working coal mine, attend a parade, watch lawn mower races and witness the coal miner’s Olympics as part of the festivities. Food and free entertainment are available and be sure to wear dancing shoes to join in the square and line dancing. The Coal Festival in Wellston, Ohio, is an opportunity to share in the invaluable tradition of coal mining.
The Wooly Bear Festival: October 15, 2006 Vermillion, OH
What’s a wooly bear? Wooly bears are the winter weather forecasters of the natural world. You can tell how severe a winter will be by looking at how wide the stripes on the traveling colorful caterpillars that come out in the fall are. Wide stripes and winter winds will be long and harsh. Thin stripes forecast an easy winter.
The Wooly Bear Festival in Vermillion, Ohio, celebrates the fuzzy, fall caterpillar with the largest parade in the state of Ohio lasting about 2 hours. Wooly bear races, various contests, and booths with food, crafts and even wooly bear festival t-shirts can all be found at this charming occasion for celebration and fun. A family event, there’s something for everyone at this festival fantastic.
Circleville Pumpkin Show: October 18-21 2006 Circleville, Ohio
Call it a show, but it’s a festival celebrating the big orange globe that we carve into frightening or joyous faces, eat with relish at Thanksgiving in pies, cookies, bars, and soups. It’s the pumpkin; a simple gourd that most take for granted but in the Ohio town of Circleville is celebrated with star quality. The Circleville Pumpkin show is no small potatoes. One of the largest festivals in the United States welcomes over 300,000 festival goers to peruse the world’s largest pumpkin and the world’s largest pumpkin pie. This year Circleville Pumpkin Show turns 100 and the party will be more jubilant than ever.
A celebration of everything country and rural, this Ohio festival includes such contests as hog calling, an egg toss, pumpkin pie eating, and pumpkin carving. Add concerts, pageants, story telling, arts and crafts, and food, food, food for a frolicking good time.
These are just six of the plethora of fantastic festivals to be found in the state of Ohio. An endless list of festivals celebrating the joys of living can be found in cities and small towns across the state and almost year round. Choose something new and different� choose a festival that will surprise and delight
