Fall festival season in Southwest Ohio isn’t limited to the big-name events. These 10 festivals draw everything from a few thousand neighbors to crowds in the hundreds of thousands, but the format stays the same: fried food, craft vendors, live music, and usually a parade. Here’s when and where to find them this season.
1. Germantown Pretzel Festival – Germantown
Dates: Saturday, September 26 & Sunday, September 27, 2026
Hours: Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m.
Admission: Free
Learn more: germantownpretzelfestival.com
Held in Veterans Memorial Park, this long-running festival features pretzels in every form, craft vendors, live music on two stages, carnival rides, and a beer garden.
2. Ohio Sauerkraut Festival – Waynesville
Dates: Saturday, October 10 & Sunday, October 11, 2026
Hours: Saturday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: Free
Learn more: sauerkrautfestival.waynesvilleohio.com
Main Street fills with roughly 460 craft vendors from more than 25 states and nearly 60 food vendors selling sauerkraut in every form, including sauerkraut pizza, fudge, and cookies.
3. Beavercreek Popcorn Festival – Beavercreek
Dates: Saturday, September 12 & Sunday, September 13, 2026
Hours: Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: Free
Learn more: beavercreekpopcornfestival.org
Popcorn treats, craft booths, a car show, a 5K run, kids’ activities, and live music fill Dayton-Xenia Road for the weekend.
4. Ohio Swiss Festival – Sugarcreek
Dates: Thursday through Saturday, October 1-3, 2026
Learn more: ohioswissfestival.com
Downtown Sugarcreek celebrates Ohio’s Swiss heritage with cheese tastings, wine sampling, parades, folk music, and Swiss wrestling. The Cheese Chase 5K and 10K run through the village Saturday morning.
5. Operation Pumpkin – Hamilton
Dates: Friday through Sunday, October 9-11, 2026
Hours: Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission: Free
Learn more: operation-pumpkin.org
Downtown Hamilton’s High Street fills with giant sculpted pumpkins, a pumpkin weigh-off, live carving demonstrations, an art show, kids’ activities, and a pet parade.
6. Jackson Apple Festival – Jackson
Dates: Tuesday through Saturday, September 22-26, 2026
Learn more: jacksonapplefestival.org
Downtown Jackson hosts parades, apple-themed foods, local crafts, and live performances rooted in a tradition that dates back to 1937.
7. Barnesville Pumpkin Festival – Barnesville
Dates: Thursday through Sunday, September 24-27, 2026
Admission: Free
Learn more: barnesvillepumpkinfestival.com
Giant pumpkin weigh-offs, pie-eating contests, tractor cruises, parades, and carnival rides fill downtown Barnesville for one of the region’s larger harvest festivals.
8. Tipp City Mum Festival – Tipp City
Dates: Saturday, September 26 & Sunday, September 27, 2026
Learn more: tippcitymumfestival.com
Tipp City’s title as the “Mum Capital of the World” gets a full weekend of celebration: a parade, hundreds of craft vendors, live entertainment, and streets lined with mums in every shade of fall. The antique and show car cruise-in runs downtown the Friday before, September 25.
9. Springboro Oktoberfest – Springboro
Dates: Friday & Saturday, September 11-12, 2026
Learn more: oktoberfestspringboro.org
Springboro United Church of Christ hosts this German celebration with authentic food, beer, live music, games, and a kids’ zone, blending Bavarian tradition with a small-town fundraiser feel.
10. Country Applefest – Lebanon
Dates: Saturday, September 26 & Sunday, September 27, 2026
Hours: Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: $2 per person, cash only; ages 12 and under free
Learn more: countryapplefest.com
The Warren County Fairgrounds host over 300 craft vendors, apple-themed treats like fritters and pies, and live entertainment both days.
