COLUMBUS – As many as 450,000 people are expected to soak up the sun and the culture during the Columbus Arts Festival, the unofficial kickoff event of the Columbus “festival” season.
Columbus Arts Festival powered by American Electric Power; Scioto Riverfront, Fri., June 9 – Sun., June 11. Hours: Friday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (NOTE: Friday and Saturday artist booths close at 9 p.m.)
Arts and crafts from nearly 300 juried local and national artists will line both banks of the Scioto River and the bridges between Main and Broad Streets.
More than 150 performances are planned on the festival’s six stages and food from some of the city’s finest restaurants and food trucks.
The second-annual Arts Festival 5K presented by covermymeds starts at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission Riverfest returns to the festival with a new free canoe and kayak launch point on the festival grounds near the Bicentennial Park stage. Hours: Saturday Noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday Noon to 4 p.m.
The festival is produced by the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the city’s leading sponsor of cultural events.
The organization received an estimated $6.4 million in city-generated revenue in 2016, including nearly 97 percent of the hotel/motel tax set aside for cultural services.