Every time I've come to Portsmouth, the streets have been dead. Except for River Days…read more The view of the Ohio River from Portsmouth is gorgeous enough as it is. But, add food, music, and rides and you've got a great weekend on hand. After settling on a black cherry flavoured sno-cone, the boy and I walked the path along the river whilst listening to the free music playing at the riverfront amphitheater. If you have kids, there are plenty of free kids activities to keep them busy and happy. We missed the parade, and there is also fireworks to close out the festival but we just made a quick day-trip down to the area to check it out. Great festival with a great view along the riverfront that I hope to make a yearly outing!

River Days! The last 3 trips have been great! Great entertainment, good food, good people, and…read moregreat for the kids or grandkids. My biker friends and I make the trip and enjoy a great time. Beautiful scenery and you can't beat the Free entertainment. Plan for the whole weekend or just a day trip. It is worth the travel time.

FINALLY! I've known about the Pawpaw Fest for several years, and always managed to miss the…read moreweekend. This year, I made sure to mark it on my calendar and check it out. NOTE: single-day tickets are a bit on the higher side - $20, but a healthy portion of the proceeds goods toward the preservation of pawpaws in Ohio which is always a win-win situation. Tee shirt feen, right here! You bet I picked up a shirt (or two)! Love the cool design logo for this year's festival. Integrated Acres is a huge pawpaw farm in Athens, so I'm glad I went this year, got to taste the fruit - a cross between mango and banana. Got a big 'ol pouch of frozen pawpaw pulp to enjoy through the cold winter months - it's good to dream of tropical climates, folks! Oh, and Snoweville Creamery was at the fest selling their vanilla ice cream with pawpaw pulp on top, and let me tell you, mmmm mmm mmmmmmm!!

Just a small hop and skip from Athens sits Lake Snowden. A small lake, but notoriously known for…read moreone major event that pops up every September, Paw-paw fest! I've been going for years... mostly to stock up on paw-paw fruits. What's a paw-paw? It's Ohio's native fruit. It's actually one of the few fruits that grow in our part of North America. The fruits have particular growing environments that they need to thrive.... particularly, wet, ravine areas with shade, but still some sun. Perfect conditions for those who live in Hocking county & south.... in the north? Not so much, although some have been spotted in Clintonville area. The fruits range per the region they are cultivated, but Ohio's is typically a green avocado shaped fruit, which tastes like a mix between a very rip banana meets mango. They are related to the papaya family.... I believe. So, the festival itself is like something straight from a Mother Earth News magazine. Lots of workshops & presentations on permaculture, horticulture & pawpaws. Pretty informative stuff, if you're looking to learn. Across the grounds is a stage with locals stringing up some music. On one side of the festival you have crafters/artisans selling prints of their pawpaw masterpieces, ceramics, jewelry, glass, lawn ornaments, etc. On another side you have food vendors dishing up just regular food truck fare, and if you're lucky, some of them have paw-paw items to purchase. in between, you have vendors selling Ohio native plants, including paw-paw tree saplings and much more. Note**There are shuttles that run here, as once parking fills up in the main area, you're forced to shuttle. If you drive just a few hundred yards up the road, across from a gas station will be a large lot to park, and shuttle buses stop frequently. Going here is just easy going. Everyone's pretty laid back in true Athens county fashion. It's really easy to just sit back and get absorbed into all of it, and not to mention, Paw-paws are a delicious treat that Ohio gets to experience for a minuscule period of time. Worth a stop for all you hippie-earth-ohio-loving people.

Best Bob Evans ever. Like right out of the past. Clean, calm, yummy. The restaurant Is bizarrely…read moreworth the stop. It's the best Bob Evans!

I typically don't do chain restaurant reviews, but since we stopped by the OG Bob Evans Farms, I…read morefigured it was worth it... We've driven by Rio Grande, OH enroute to visit the ole ball and chain's family in Martinsville, VA probably 20+ times and never stopped at the OG Bob Evans... We finally decided to stop and it was okay. The farm is cool, but definitely not as big as anticipated... It has the original homestead (on it), a bunch of land, a standard Bob Evan's restaurant, and that's it. We were thinking it was going to be a bit more of a historical homestead and much bigger. The restaurant itself was good though... Basically your regular Bob Evans - Good food and good service with the usual country feel. Idk that we'll make a stop back, but it was cool to finally get to the OG Bob Evans Farms.

Finally got to actually see the festival after 6 years of marching it!! The Jackson Apple Fest…read moreholds a special place in my heart as one of the biggest parades I got to march in middle and high school, and the true appreciation the community has for the bands and other groups that perform. Actually walking through the festival, I have to admit, was a little disappointing. I love fair food as much as the next person, but I was really hoping to see more booths about the community, the apples, and maybe more music considering what an important role the marching bands play in this celebration. I saw only one booth selling apples, out of dozens of booths. I didn't see anything explaining the significance of apples to the festival or Jackson. Most of the booths were the same fair foods, church advertisements, or cheap Ali Express knick knacks sold at a higher price. The rides were squeakier than my hometown county fair's, so you definitely couldn't catch me on them. I definitely didn't hate the festival, but I just wish it had more community and celebration aside from the parade. From the band/marcher side, I was sad to see after several years, they still have not invested in more covers for the wires on the ground. Even as a pedestrian, I was tripping over them, and I remember how dreaded these wires were during parade marching. I really hope they cover these to avoid accidents and just provide easier mobility. The groups that perform deserve that. In my opinion, the parade is what makes this festival. Bands compete for ratings, but they also have fun and celebrate each other. I recommend coming after 7 for the parade. There are lots of floats, lights, and fantastic musicians. That is where I really feel community.

Where are the APPLES?! The Apple Festival has slowly turned into a fair. Good luck finding a candy…read moreapple in that place! Only found 2 places at the entire event that sold candy/caramel apples. What a let down. If someone opened an apple only kiosk they would corner the market. Truly a let down. There's always the pumpkin show which never fails to disappoint.

Such a great festival for the area. We try to hit it up every year when we can. Usually the end of…read moreSeptember (last weekend). It's about a two hour drive for us now but so worth it. Prepare for a great weekend of amazing Greek food (Souvlaki, Saganki, Greek coffee, Kataifi pastries, and of course Baklava), dancing (and boy do they dance!!) and finally of course a little Greek culture. Opa!!

I've been attending the Ohio River Sternwheel Festival in Marietta, OH since 2005, and rarely ever…read moremiss it. It is a fantastic festival held annually the second week of September (the weekend after Labor Day), along the Ohio River. From my understanding, this festival has been going on since 1976. It's a weekend festival of fun! So many vendors selling food, live music on the levee, a Sternwheel pageant, races, the most amazing Fireworks show you can imagine, children's activities, a car show, and of course Sternwheelers from all over the country. My advice would be to book a hotel well in advance, because they fill up fast. This is not your average small town festival, this festival brings in the crowds of roughly 100,000 people to the area. Once you attend, you'll realize why people come back again and again to this annual event!

We love the wine and it's a beautiful spot to visit! Nice porch, and a lovely walking trail.read more

I did not try the food but the place is definitely clean and I only got some wine. The place is…read moreclean and well maintained. The service is good.