(Toledo, OH) Northwest Ohio has a cornucopia of festive options to offer families this weekend.
Downtown Sylvania will get a little crowded Saturday night for Local Fest—Bands, Bites and Brews. Four local bands, microbrews, food trucks, and win samples will be available in front of a giant mural painted near J-and-G Pizza. The event runs tomorrow 4 p.m. to midnight.
The 13th annual Ottawa Hills Fall Festival will feature a marketplace and auto show during the day Saturday. The festival features an art fair, a pumpkin decorating contest, pony rides, and live entertainment. The event runs tomorrow 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in front of Ottawa Hills High School.
Waterville will hold its annual celebration for a big rock tomorrow. Roche de Boeuf is French for "Buffalo Rock", a big limestone outcrop which forms an island near the center of the Maumee River. That giant rock served as a landmark for early explorers and natives. An interurban bridge also called the Ohio Electric Railroad Bridge built across the river more than a century ago, was, at the time, the longest reinforced concrete bridge in the nation. Roche de Boeuf first gained fame as the spot where, In 1794, General Anthony Wayne marched his legion down along the river where the Ottawa Indians held their councils.
The 44th annual Roche de Boeuf Festival kicks off in downtown Waterville with a Saturday morning parade. There will be a car show, kids zone, and an art fair are among the activities scheduled between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Free shuttle service will be available from Conrad Park throughout the day.
You can help out a canine cause by pulling out your golf clubs tomorrow. The annual Putts for Mutts fundraiser takes place at Bedford Hills Golf Club—and includes either an 18-hole round of golf at 8 a.m. Saturday or putt-putt golfing at 10 a.m. The proceeds benefit the Puppy Rescue Mission, which helps bring home dogs adopted by military members when serving overseas.
Kids can learn a thing or two about science during a family-friendly event tomorrow at Bowling Green State University. The annual STEM in the Park event in the Perry Field House features all kinds of hands-on activities, such as an All-Wheels Zone and a Robotics Zone. The idea is to encourage kids to sharpen their science, technology, engineering, and math skills outside the classroom. The free event runs 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
The three-day Continental Fall Festival starts today in that Putnam County Community. Friday’s focus is on the family with a baked potato bar and plenty of kids activities. Saturday’s events feature a pancake-and-sausage breakfast, a car show, 5-K run, and small tractor pulls. Sunday features a parade and duck races.
The sixth annual North Coast Oktoberfest takes place outside the Sandusky State Theatre this weekend. The three-day event features plenty of German food and beer, a golf cart parade, a wiener dog derby, along with traditional German games, music and dancers. The event runs 5 to 11 p.m. tonight, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Some old-fashioned fun can be found this weekend at the Luckey Fall Festival. The Wood County community will feature a steam engine show, an antique and classic car show Saturday morning, and a community-wide church service and chicken barbecue Sunday morning. The three-day festival can be found on the north end of the village along state route 582.
Downtown Findlay turns into an Oktoberfest Saturday. The Hancock Historical Museum is putting on the German heritage festival from 2 to 10 p.m. The event will feature live German music, polka dancing, German food and beer, along with kids activities and a pageant.
Fostoria will play host the that community’s 16th annual Rail Festival tomorrow. The event will feature a model train show, radio control planes, and a historic bus tour. The event runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fostoria middle school-high school complex.
Pumpkins, mums, and all things autumn will be part of the annual Bluffton Fall Festival tomorrow. Events include a farmer’s market downtown, a toy car show, a craft and business fair, fishing derby, tractor show, and kids activities. The fall festival takes place at different locations across that Hancock County village from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A caterpillar who can predict the weather will be the featured attraction at the annual Woollybear Festival in downtown Vermilion tomorrow. The festival was made famous by a Cleveland TV meteorologist, because the Old Farmers Almanac and folklore give the brown-and-black fuzzy caterpillar the reputation of being able to forecast the coming winter weather. The one-day festival features a parade, a race, king and queen costume contest, and an animal look-a-like competition.