It was hot. It was crowded with way to many people. There…read morewas little to no ham. We throughly enjoyed ourselves even after making the grueling 16 hour drive from sunny Fort Lauderdale. My husband has been a ham been since 1994 and after going to a few "ventions" with him, this was the first one in Dayton. He was happy so I was happy. There is all sorts of stuff here to get your nerd on with and geek out. The people were pleasant to be around, sweat and all.

Everything. Great time each year! Best time in Xenia this time of year everyone friendly and that's…read morewhat's needed to bring in the thousands from all around the globe....

We went yesterday, last day of this season. Earlier weekends had been cold and snowy. Yesterday…read morewas warmish and muddy. They use about half of the full Renaissance Fest grounds, and it's a similar experience. Many staff (and visitors) in costumes. Shops and food stands scattered about. Shows, mainly magic, music, fireeating, etc. Kid-friendly and very enjoyable. Hot cocoa and cider, and assorted alcoholic beverages. Lights everywhere. I mean everywhere! Firepits handy around most corners. A train ride for the kids. Pix with Santa. And more. If you like RenFest you'll like this. If you're looking for a fun family holiday event, you'll like this (kids are free.) If you like mead you'll like this.

Where do I begin with this amazing event? Let me start by saying the social media and website do…read morenot do justice for how much is truly here, and most everything is for FREE! The Wagner Subaru Outdoor experience is a free festival held the first weekend of October at Dayton's Eastwood Metropark. It is a festival celebrating all things outdoors and aiming to offer everyone the chance to experience it. Free parking. Free admission. Free activities. At the entrance there is registration and waiver release to participate in all the activities. The first activity near the entrance is a whole course to try mountain biking! Theres also regular cycling! Next is try canoeing, kayaking, or SUP (stand up paddleboard). How about trying climbing, rowing, or fly fishing?! But wait, theres STILL MORE! Try backpacking, bmx, slacklining, disc golf, and even orienteering. Already participate in outdoor activities? Bring your bikes, bring your kayaks or SUPs, and you can use your own gear. Theres even an entire campground that you can camp at for the weekend... for yep, free! Bring your dogs because theres a ton of fun activities for them. On Saturday AM there's a Dog 5k. Theres an agility course, treats, and in addition Subaru sets up an entire dog park and swim area (its huge!). Want dog petsitting while you participate? Theres pooch parking for free, for up to 90 mins! Bring your old gear for a swap, or find yourself some new to you stuff! Also many vendor booths are selling new gear. Entertainment?! There's no shortage of that! There's dock diving dog shows, bmx shows, slackline high wire shows, whitewater shows and competitions, and live music all day long. Dont forget the obstacle courses or scavenger hunt! You can take classes at the adult or youth outdoor school (see schedule). Walk around to the many vendor booths for freebies, info, or things to purchase. Wildlife? Theres live animal demonstrations and a giant aquarium! Worked up an appetite after all this? Head over to food truck village for a wide array of options and top it off with a cold one from the beer garden! Environment. The final special thing here is the focus on our planet. Theres no garbage cans, only waste stations with options for recycling, compost, or landfill. Theres no water bottles sold here, only free cold water fill stations with paper cups or bring your own. Beer cups? Nope. You must purchase a reusable stainless steel pint, which benefits the Mad River Ski mountain patrol. Several booths focus on info about how to help including compost at home, reusable straws for purchase, and the parks. This festival is a must attend, and again did I mention free? GET. OUTSIDE.

This is a nice but misnamed event. To me a better name might be Fairborn Beer Garden And Food…read moreTruck with some Bluegrass Gathering. To me in order to be a true Bluegrass Festival they need to make it a 2 to 3 day event and have some local vendors I'd suggest about 2 local music shops one of which sells high end instruments and another that sells high qualit lower priced instruments. I'd also suggest 2 to 4 local jewelry vendors that sell different types of jewelry that wouldn't compete with each other. I liked the Food Truck selection. Wholly Smokes is my favorite . I'd appreciate the opportunity to buy Festival T Shirts. I got a couple but several years I couldn't find one or they weren't available. One might ask what makes me an expert on Bluegrass Festivals. That's a fair question that deserves to be addressed. I was the Vendor Coordinator with Summergrass Bluegrass Festival for years. I did my job in good times and bad. While happily married, while grieving the loss of my wife , while going through a several relationships, I always did the best possible job I could while learning to do it. This event does bring some great Bluegrass to Fairborn. As I look into the crowd I see faces I've seen for years. It is an event I look forward to every year that has a lot of potential to be Ohios primeere Bluegrass Festival.

It was a decent little experience. The pumpkins were ginormous, lots of pumpkins and little shops…read moreto buy all kinds of things my favorite being the coffee truck. It was much needed. Whoever thought of the coffee truck was a great idea. There was only one which I was very thankful for. More expensive and not as good as Starbucks, but it did the job.

Pretty cool experience!!!... the pumpkins were ginormous!! .... The coffee truck was much needed !!read more

Buongiorno Italian…read morefall 2025 Festival My 100% Italian Wife has instructed me to provide sunny weather for the Festival, which is arguably the nicest festival in the Greater Dayton Metropolitan Area. A weekend of wonderful Italian music, delicious Italian food, good friends, and lots of great Italian food. And of course, a large TV for the Ohio State game. Caveat: we always take our own flatware to avoid the inexpensive plastic ware provided. The John Pirelli Lodge of OSIA is located at Bella Villa Hall on County Line Road in Dayton OH, and we have been attending for 50+ years. I have never understood that many folks seek out pizza at the Italian Festival. There are at least 100 plus pizza joints in the Greater Dayton Metropolitan Area which offer much better pizza. There is real Italian food here - just ask all of the Italians in the food booths. I have also never understood why this festival cannot provide great Italian Pepperoni Rolls. Has no one taken the famous WV Italian Pepperoni Roll Trail (which is now extended to Davis, WV?) I always pass on Baked Italian Pasta unless it is lasagna. I have observed my dear wife making homemade lasagna, and we both comprehend the reasons that the festival cannot provide lasagna. Today it is (baked) Italian Shells plus Spicy Italian sausage and loads of other Italian goodies. As expected the shells are much overcooked and the Spicy Italian sausage is perfect. One of the very best festival offerings is the Spicy Italian sausage, which is arguably superior to any sausage offered at the Dayton Art Institute October Fest. My dear wife implores us to arrive by noon; she can easily make several laps around the grounds and scope out the many Italian Delights including 50 homemade Italian cookies and of course, the gelato. We have friends and family who delay their arrival until 6:00 PM, and we perceive controlled chaos during evening hours. Of course, we tend to enjoy arrival at the many Dayton and Ohio festivals. Great that the Italian Festive is very family friendly from newborns to folks in their nineties.

Food was bad this year. The pizza crust was not the same, it use to be crispy crust this year 2025…read morewas just flat dough, the crust is what the pizza so delicious. Also my family had several issues with the other food. Be careful who you get to make your food, food poison is not funny!! The cookies are way over priced to be as bad as they were.

This was so cool to see. My grandkids loved it. Visitor center was full of interesting things to…read moresee and learn. It was also Amazing how big the trolls are and how they've been built by hand. Very cool. Walk to them is easy too and paved or gravel.

Here's a great place to spend some time and hike though the woods. The Aullwood Audubon includes a…read morenature center, educational farm and farm discovery center and a 200 acre nature sanctuary with 8 miles of walking trails. And it's dog friendly as long as they on a leash. There are also 3 huge trolls to see along with various art pieces here and there. You can park and enter off of Frederick Pike (farmhouse) or off Aullwood Road off of Route 4 (Education Center). As of 4/26/25 admission was: Children 3 & under - free Age 4-12 - $8 Age 13-64 - $12 Age 65 & over - $10 It's so worth it! As Arnold said, 'I'll be back!'

Lewisburg Haunted Cave is always an amazing time! The atmosphere alone is spooky. The last 2…read moreyears they have done a special flashlight tour for younger kids to see the cave. There are no actors scaring them; but they get to experience the animatronics. They had workers lined up along the way to pass out candy and answer any questions about the cave. My daughter is still a little nervous about haunted houses, so this perfect for her. I have gone to the cave for years during their spooky time and it's always amazing. Go check it out if you have the ability!!

Will be writing this review as the night goes on…read more Tickets: Easy and seamless to purchase on line which is much different than what I have worked with in the past. (20/20) Parking: Currently 6:30pm and the parking lot is still locked with a line of cars starting to build up. While each haunt is different, they suggest getting here early if you have a combo pass which I do. Making us wait until nearly 7 pm to park is not smart. Also disrespectful parking attendant. (15/20) Haunted Mine/Mine Tour: Superb..no spoilers! (50/50) Concession Stand: Cash only, no comments as I didn't use it. (10/10) Overall:(90/100)