Columbus is not easing into August. The Ohio State Fair has one weekend left in its run, the Crew host Club Pachuca in a rematch of a continental final, and that’s all before Saturday even gets going.
Saturday alone stacks a cocktail festival in Franklinton, a craft beer night in Westerville, country at KEMBA Live!, and Dav Pilkey drawing for a theater full of kids on campus. Here’s the whole weekend, sorted by day.
This Weekend At A Glance
| Event | When | Where | Cost |
| Ohio State Fair (final weekend) | Fri 10am–9pm, Sat 9am–9pm, Sun gates close 6pm | Ohio Expo Center | $13 adults; 5 & under free |
| Crew vs. Club Pachuca (Leagues Cup) | Fri, 7:30pm | ScottsMiracle-Gro Field | Ticketed |
| Bailey Zimmerman (fair grandstand) | Fri, 7:30pm | Ohio State Fair | Ticketed separately |
| St. James Brats and Crafts Festival | Fri 4–9:30pm, Sat 11:30am–9:30pm, Sun 11:30am–4pm | 5660 Trabue Rd., west side | Free |
| Beetlejuice Jr. (opening weekend) | Opens Fri; runs through Aug 23 | Studio One, Riffe Center | Ticketed |
| Pippin (opening weekend) | Fri 7pm, Sat 2 & 7pm, Sun 2pm | Garden Theatre | Ticketed |
| Columbus Cocktail Festival | Sat, noon–7pm | Gravity Experience Park, Franklinton | Ticketed |
| NCS Cartoonist Showcase | Sat, doors 1pm, program 1:30pm | Mershon Auditorium | $10 |
| Gin Blossoms / Blues Traveler with Spin Doctors | Sat, 7pm | Ohio State Fair | Ticketed separately |
| Uptown Untapped | Sat, 6–10pm | Uptown Westerville | $20; 21+ |
| Concert for a Cause: Chris Young & Chase Rice | Sat, doors 6pm | KEMBA Live! (outdoors) | Ticketed |
| PBJ & Jazz at the Topiary Park | Sat, noon | Topiary Park | Free |
| Mid-Ohio Indie Author Book Expo | Sat, noon–4:30pm | Aladdin Shrine Center, Grove City | Free |
| Goodale Park Music Series: Ron Holmes | Sun, 12:30–2pm | Goodale Park | Free |
| Worthington End-of-Summer Fair | Sun, 1–5pm | Old Worthington | Free |
Friday, August 7
🎡 Final Weekend of the Ohio State Fair
Twelve days of fair come down to three more. Gates run 10am to 9pm Friday and 9am to 9pm Saturday, and Sunday is the short day: admission gates close at 6pm, and most buildings and activities shut down then too. Admission at the gate is $13 for adults, $10 for kids 6 to 12 and for seniors, free for five and under, with parking $10 and the ride-all-day wristband $38. The grandstand goes country Friday night with Bailey Zimmerman at 7:30pm, then turns into a 90s radio dial Saturday when Gin Blossoms and Blues Traveler share a 7pm bill with the Spin Doctors; both shows are ticketed separately from fair admission.
Location: Ohio Expo Center
When: Through Sunday; Sunday gates close 6pm
Cost: $13 adults, $10 kids/seniors, 5 & under free
More info: Ohio State Fair
⚽ Crew vs. Club Pachuca: The Rematch
Nobody in the Nordecke has forgotten June 2024, when Pachuca beat the Crew in the Concacaf Champions Cup final in Mexico. Friday’s Leagues Cup meeting at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field is the first time the two clubs have met since, with a 7:30pm kickoff. The Crew have never lost a Leagues Cup match in the competition’s history (8-0-3) and won the whole thing in 2024.
Location: ScottsMiracle-Gro Field
When: Friday, 7:30pm
More info: Columbus Crew
🍴 St. James Brats and Crafts Festival
St. James Lutheran on the west side runs its annual brats weekend all three days: secret-recipe bratwurst in mild and spicy, homemade German potato salad, apple dumplings, and a beer wagon pouring domestic and craft. An arts and crafts fair plus kids games and inflatables run alongside live bands each day, and Saturday at 3pm there’s an old-time baseball game. Admission and parking cost nothing, and the profits go to Central Ohio organizations.
Location: St. James Lutheran Church, 5660 Trabue Rd.
When: Friday 4–9:30pm, Saturday 11:30am–9:30pm, Sunday 11:30am–4pm
Cost: Free admission and parking
More info: St. James Lutheran
🎭 Beetlejuice Jr. Opens at Columbus Children’s Theatre
The ghost with the most takes over the Riffe Center’s Studio One stage in a 60-minute junior version of the Broadway hit, following Lydia Deetz through one seriously haunted house. It opens Friday and runs through August 23, recommended for ages 5 and up, and the hour runtime is a smart fit for a first theater trip. Tickets go through the CAPA box office.
Location: Studio One Theatre, Riffe Center
When: August 7–23
More info: Columbus Children’s Theatre
🎭 Pippin Opens Short North Stage’s 15th Season
Short North Stage kicks off its 15th season with a remount of its 2019 production of Pippin, Stephen Schwartz’s Tony-winning circus of a musical, on the Garden Theatre MainStage. Opening night is Friday at 7pm, with 2pm and 7pm shows Saturday, a 2pm Sunday matinee, and a run that continues through August 30. Limited student rush and Pay What You Want tickets open at the door two hours before each show.
Location: Garden Theatre, Short North
When: Friday 7pm; Saturday 2 & 7pm; Sunday 2pm; through Aug 30
More info: Short North Stage
Saturday, August 8
🍸 Columbus Cocktail Festival at Gravity Experience Park
Land-Grant gathers 13 of the city’s cocktail programs in one Franklinton lot for an afternoon, including Antiques on High, High Bank Distillery, Budd Dairy Food Hall, and Little West Tavern. A ticket covers entry and samples from every participating bar, noon to 7pm. Capacity is capped, so this one rewards buying ahead.
Location: Gravity Experience Park, 98 McDowell St., Franklinton
When: Saturday, noon–7pm
More info: Land-Grant Brewing
📚 NCS Cartoonist Showcase: Dav Pilkey, Raina Telgemeier & Friends
The names on half the bookshelves in any elementary school land on campus Saturday. Dav Pilkey, Raina Telgemeier, Jim Benton, Jamar Nicholas, and Maria Scrivan each take the Mershon Auditorium stage for spotlight talks and sneak peeks at unreleased books, with a signing after the program. Doors open at 1pm and the program starts at 1:30. Tickets are $10 ($8 for Wexner members), the price includes a meet and greet with Pilkey, and proceeds support the education program at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.
Location: Mershon Auditorium, 1871 N. High St.
When: Saturday, doors 1pm, program 1:30pm
Cost: $10 ($8 Wexner members)
More info: Wexner Center for the Arts
🍺 Uptown Untapped
Westerville spent a century as the Dry Capital of the World, and Saturday it pours about 20 Ohio craft breweries on the first block of East Main Street. Admission is $20, the taps run 6 to 10pm rain or shine, and the event is 21 and over with ID checked at the gate. Gluten-free drink options made the list too.
Location: East Main Street, Uptown Westerville
When: Saturday, 6–10pm
Cost: $20, 21+
More info: Uptown Westerville Inc.
🎤 Concert for a Cause: Chris Young & Chase Rice
The second annual Columbus Auto Dealers Concert for a Cause puts Chris Young and Chase Rice on the KEMBA Live! outdoor stage, with Trey Pendley opening. Doors open at 6pm, it’s all ages and rain or shine, and proceeds support Canine Companions and Charity Newsies.
Location: KEMBA Live! (outdoors)
When: Saturday, doors 6pm
More info: PromoWest
🥪 PBJ & Jazz at the Topiary Park (Free)
The Columbus Jazz Community Band plays the free PBJ & Jazz series at noon: a one-hour, sing-along-friendly introduction to jazz aimed at young kids and the adults who brought them. Pack a blanket and a picnic lunch.
Location: Topiary Park
When: Saturday, noon
Cost: Free
More info: Columbus Jazz
📖 Mid-Ohio Indie Author Book Expo (Free)
Independently published authors of every stripe set up at the Aladdin Shrine Center in Grove City from noon to 4:30pm, with genres running from romance and non-fiction to graphic novels and YA. Admission and parking are free. A craft corner keeps the kids busy while food vendors handle lunch.
Location: Aladdin Shrine Center, 1801 Gateway Circle, Grove City
When: Saturday, noon–4:30pm
Cost: Free
More info: Mid-Ohio Indies
Sunday, August 9
🎵 Ron Holmes at the Goodale Park Gazebo (Free)
The Goodale Park Music Series wraps its listed season with bassist Ron Holmes and his jazz-fusion project Eclecticism, 12:30 to 2pm at the gazebo, free, with food carts on site. A blanket and ninety minutes in the park is a fine way to land a Sunday.
Location: Goodale Park
When: Sunday, 12:30–2pm
Cost: Free
More info: Short North Civic Association
🎪 Worthington End-of-Summer Fair (Free)
Old Worthington closes out summer with carnival games, two live bands, restaurant food specials, and shopping deals along High Street from 1 to 5pm. The district’s DORA runs every day, so a to-go drink while wandering is fair game.
Location: Old Worthington, 671 High St.
When: Sunday, 1–5pm
Cost: Free
More info: Experience Worthington
🎡 One Last Lap at the Fair
Sunday is the fair’s last day, and it’s shorter than most people expect: admission gates and most buildings close at 6pm, with everything wrapped by 9. An early start gets the barns and the midway before the closing-day crowd figures out the same thing.
Location: Ohio Expo Center
When: Sunday, gates close 6pm
More info: Ohio State Fair
That’s the weekend. The fair takes its bow, two stages hold opening nights, and the beer, cocktail, and country crowds all get a Saturday. For everything past Sunday, the August guide has the rest of the month covered.
Get out there.
