Your guide to summer fun in Ohio:
Summer fun in Ohio
Ohio places and events for summer fun!
“Smoke on the Mountain”
Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St., Westerville
Dates: through June 15
Otterbein Summer Theatre revives the gospel musical, set in 1938 at a North Carolina church as the Sanders Family Singers perform uplifting and amusing songs and offer witness.
Admission: $33
“Boisali Biswas”
Columbus Cultural Arts Center, 139 W. Main St.
Dates: through June 22
The artist, originally from India, creates mixed-media fiber works inspired by and reflecting the traditional art forms of her homeland.
Admission: free
Food Trucks
John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons, South High and East Rich streets
Dates: Every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May through October, and every Tuesday morning in June from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Ten of Columbus’ best food trucks will be serving lunch, providing enough variety so there is always something new to try. Plus, head on down Tuesday mornings in June for breakfast treats.
Admission: free
Eamon Queeney | The Columbus Dispatch
Columbus Children’s Festival
Westerville North High School, 950 County Line Road
Date: June 15, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The eighth annual Columbus Children’s Festival features a character breakfast, youth sports and fitness activities, a bounce park and fun zone, a talent contest, a food-truck fest, giveaways, entertainment and more.
Admission: free
Jeremy Wadsworth
Metroparks Toledo
15 locations in Lucas County
Metroparks Toledo boasts more than 12,000 acres of protected natural land to explore — and hike and bike and kayak and more. Jerusalem Township’s Howard Marsh Metropark is the latest addition, joining the sprawling system last year with miles of hiking trails that will particularly appeal to bird-watchers.
For a more urban atmosphere, try Toledo’s Middlegrounds Metropark, with a 1.5-mile path that meanders along the Maumee River. Swanton’s Oak Openings Preserve is at the opposite extreme, with about 5,000 wooded acres. The Canneley Treehouse Village there won’t quite be ready for the summer.
Admission: free
Bob Downing/Akron Beacon Journal/MCT
Kelleys Island
About 4 miles north of Marblehead (Erie)
Kelleys Island is a mellower counterpart to Put-in-Bay — a little more hiking, biking and kayaking than all-day bar-hopping. The glacial grooves — an impressive 400 feet long, 35 feet wide and 10 feet deep — are a particular landmark for the outdoorsy visitor. For those who like to kick back with a drink or a meal, there’s the Kelley’s Island Wine Co. and Kelleys Island Brewery.
Admission: The Kelleys Island Ferry leaves from Marblehead, with one-way adult fares at $10; plan on $10 for parking. Jet Express leaves from Sandusky, with one-way adult fares at $20 and free daily parking.
Craig Holman | The Columbus Dispatch
Put-in-Bay Pyrate Fest
Put-in-Bay, South Bass Island (Ottawa)
Date: June 21-23
Ahoy, matey! Swash-buckling pirates descend on Put-in-Bay for the island’s 11th annual Pyrate Fest. Visitors can join the re-enactors in donning their best pirate garb for children’s and adult costume contests. There also will be parades, cannon demonstrations and a pirate market and living village.
Board the Miller Ferry in Catawba or the Jet Express in Port Clinton or Sandusky to get to Put-in-Bay.
Admission: free
(AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
7721 Steam Corners Road, Lexington (Richland)
Spectators fill the stands each summer at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, where the Honda Indy 200 is slated for July 26-28 and NASCAR’s Xfinity Series will race Aug. 9-10. Americas Rallycross puts a different spin on racing June 8-9, and a Vintage Grand Prix (June 21-23) and Vintage Motorcycle Days (July 5-7) turn back the clock.
Mid-Ohio is one of several tracks in the region that welcome spectators: Toledo Speedway in Lucas County, Fremont Speedway in Sandusky County or Attica Raceway Park in Seneca County are among the others.
Admission: varies by event; children 12 and under are admitted free with paid adult.
Toledo Museum of Art
2445 Monroe St., Toledo (Lucas)
Plenty impresses within the world-renowned collection of the Toledo Museum of Art. Summer exhibits include “Life is a Highway: Art and American Car Culture,” exploring the implications of the automobile between June 15 to Sept. 15. The multisensory “Everything is Rhythm: Mid-Century Art and Music” and the wide-ranging “Global Conversations: Art in Dialogue” run all summer. The TMA Block Party also returns on July 13, among other special summer programming.
Admission: free; plan on $8 for onsite parking for nonmembers.
Imagination Station
1 Discovery Way, Toledo (Lucas)
From the High Wire Cycle, where a massive counterweight lets you ride a bicycle along a cable suspended 20 feet above the ground, to the Extreme Science Theater, where scientists lead daily interactive demonstrations, there is plenty to see and do at Imagination Station.
The IDEA Lab Tinkering Space, in particular, lets visitors get hands-on with activities that change monthly. In June, tinkerers can design and build boats, then test their models on stormy seas. Catapults and trebuchets are up in July.
Admission: $13 for adults, $12 for those 65 and over and $11 for children ages 3 to 12; there is a $2 discount for Lucas County residents.