Bringing the Community Together
The Columbus Arts Festival returns this weekend
By Joe Frye
For one weekend in early June, the city’s downtown riverfront transforms into a living, breathing work of art. From June 6 to 8, 2025, the Columbus Arts Festival will return to the Scioto Mile, welcoming hundreds of artists and thousands of visitors to celebrate creativity in all its forms. Presented by the Greater Columbus Arts Council and supported by the American Electric Power Foundation, the festival sprawls across the riverfront with more than 230 exhibiting artists representing a wide array of disciplines from ceramics and jewelry to painting, photography and mixed media. Notably, more than 80 of these artists hail from Columbus.
At the Greater Columbus Art Festival we believe that the arts are transformative,” says Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of the festival, and Board Chair Jim Negron in a joint statement. “The performing arts bring communities together— that as we watch and listen, we are a congregation experiencing joy together.”
For those looking to experience this joy, four stages will host Columbus-based performers, showcasing music, dance, spoken word and theater. The Genoa Park Main Stage and the revitalized Bicentennial Park Stage feature the headlining acts, while the Word is Art Lounge offers intimate poetry and acoustic sets. The Big Local Arts Village at the festival’s Franklinton site features over 60 central Ohio artists and their live demonstrations—from blacksmithing to traditional Japanese calligraphy—alongside hands-on crafts for attendees.
Culinary offerings will also fill the fair, with more than 40 food trucks and vendors serving up local favorites like Mikey’s Late Night Slice and Schmidt’s sausages, along with regional beers from Rhinegeist Brewery and High Bank Distillery. Other events and offerings include fashion shows and cookie decorating, ensuring that creativity will be expressed in a myriad of ways this weekend.
For more information, check out the festivals official guidebook.
