What's Happening Around Xenia & Across Ohio: October 2026

One of the largest Renaissance festivals in the Midwest, the Ohio Renaissance Festival is in the peak of its 2026 season, running every weekend through Sunday, November 1. Its permanent sixteenth-century-style village along East State Route 73 in Warren County fills with costumed performers, live jousting, working artisan shops, and food that feels straight out of a medieval feast.

Every weekend brings a new theme, so each visit feels different. In the weeks ahead you can catch Viking Weekend (October 3-4), Time Travelers Weekend (October 10-11), Romance Weekend (October 17-18), Myths & Monsters (October 24-25), and the season-closing Heroes and Villains (October 31 through November 1), when kids 12 and under get in free. Gates open at 10:30 AM each day; adult tickets are $35, children 5 to 12 are $10, and parking is included.

This one is especially close to our hearts. Glasshouse Realty keeps a billboard presence along the roads around the festival grounds, so as you make your way to the gates you may just spot our sign. It is a small reflection of how connected our team is to this corner of Warren County, and it makes the drive even sweeter. For jousting fans, costume lovers, and anyone with a taste for turkey legs, it is essential Southwest Ohio.

Our spotlight community this month, Xenia, hosts one of the region's most beloved toy gatherings on Saturday, October 3. The Great Ohio Toy Show fills the Greene County Fairgrounds & Expo Center from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with dealers selling vintage toys, model trains, die-cast cars, action figures, and plenty of new toys as well. It returns twice a year, and the fall edition is a favorite for collectors and families alike.

It is more than a shopping trip, though. With Greene County's historic towns at its doorstep, a visit to the Toy Show is a great excuse to see why Xenia keeps growing: friendly neighborhoods, new construction, and a downtown with real character. Bring the kids, hunt for a treasure, and spend the afternoon exploring this fast-growing corner of Greater Dayton.

Clark County's Heritage of Flight Festival returns to downtown New Carlisle October 2-4, and its signature moment remains the Parade of Planes on Saturday morning, October 3, when historic and modern aircraft roll down the streets of this small town with deep roots in aviation history. It is a one-of-a-kind spectacle you will not see many other places.

Around the parade, the weekend delivers live entertainment, carnival rides and games, a classic car cruise-in, horse-drawn carriage rides, a pancake breakfast, and food vendors all weekend. It is a wonderful pick for families, history buffs, and anyone who loves a classic Ohio festival.

A longtime local favorite in fast-growing Springboro, Windmill Farm Market celebrates the season with its Spooktacular Fall Festival across two October weekends, October 2-4 and October 16-18. The market fills with pumpkins, mums, fall produce, and family-friendly activities, making it a favorite stop for a crisp autumn afternoon.

Between the market's treats and the surrounding Warren County countryside, it is an easy, low-key outing for families and a fun way to support a longstanding local business. Grab a pumpkin, a snack, and a stroll through the season.

On the second full weekend of October, Main Street Waynesville becomes one of Ohio's tastiest destinations. The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival, October 10-11, brings hundreds of juried artisans to this historic antiques town alongside sauerkraut in every form: kraut donuts, kraut pizza, kraut-topped sausages, and the traditional varieties perfected over decades. Admission is free.

It pairs perfectly with the Renaissance Festival just down Route 73, so a weekend in Waynesville can mean jousting one day and a kraut-filled stroll the next. Fine crafts, quirky food, and one of Ohio's most beautiful Main Streets make it the most anticipated weekend in Warren County all year.

The Miami County Park District brings its annual Fall Farm Fest to Lost Creek Reserve on October 10-11, a short drive from Tipp City and Troy. Hayrides, a corn pit, a tractor pull, scarecrow and pumpkin displays, and ice cream make it a full day of classic farm fun for all ages.

The park notes the event is cash only with no on-site ATM, so plan ahead. It is the kind of wholesome, affordable outing that makes small-town Ohio such a wonderful place to raise a family, and a warm welcome to the season.

Huber Heights gets into the Halloween spirit on Saturday, October 10 with the Monster March, Market & Movie at Thomas A. Cloud Park, from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The day starts with a 5K and one-mile fun run where costumes are encouraged, followed by a spooky market, food trucks, and a drive-in-style outdoor movie as the sun goes down.

It is a fun, family-friendly way to spend a fall Saturday and another sign of the energy this growing Montgomery County city brings to its community calendar.

Downtown Hamilton becomes the center of the pumpkin world for the 15th annual Operation Pumpkin, October 9-11. Giant carved and sculpted pumpkins line High and Main Streets, with live pumpkin sculpting, a Great Pumpkin Commonwealth-sanctioned weigh-off, more than 100 artisan and food vendors, live music, and amusement rides. Admission is free.

It is a signature event for fast-changing Hamilton and a perfect illustration of how a historic downtown can lead a renaissance. Come for the giant gourds, stay for the local vendors and the buzz along High Street.

Warren County's other charming historic downtown gets its own Oktoberfest the second weekend of October. The 12th annual Lebanon Oktoberfest, October 9-10, fills Mulberry Street with a biergarten, live music, and local vendors, Friday 6:00 to 10:00 PM and Saturday noon to 10:00 PM.

Lebanon has become one of the fastest-growing communities in the Cincinnati metro, and events like this show why: a walkable historic core, a strong sense of community, and a calendar that keeps neighbors coming downtown. Grab a stein, listen to the band, and see why so many families are putting down roots in this corner of Warren County.

If you want one last taste of Ohio's 2026 fair season, head to Georgetown for the Brown County Fair, running September 28 through October 3 in the county seat of Brown County, roughly forty minutes east of Cincinnati. It is one of the final county fairs of the year in Ohio, keeping the classic fair traditions alive into the first days of October.

A trip out is also a lovely introduction to Brown County's rolling farmland, which makes for a scenic fall drive from the Cincinnati metro and a peaceful weekend escape.

In the rolling farmland of Geauga County, the Huntsburg Pumpkin Festival fills the first weekend of October with giant-pumpkin contests, craft vendors, a pancake breakfast, and a Sunday parade through one of Ohio's most scenic rural townships. Admission and parking are free, with a free shuttle from the grounds near State Routes 322 and 528.

This is the quintessential country harvest celebration: pumpkins the size of small cars, homemade crafts, and a feel that has not changed in generations. Come hungry, wander the vendor rows, watch the weigh-off, and enjoy the foliage along the way.

Both October weekends at Historic Hale Farm & Village in Summit County bring the 19th-century harvest to life. From 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on October 3-4 and again October 10-11, costumed interpreters press cider, cook over open fires, and make apple butter the old-fashioned way, while a pumpkin patch and the living-history village invite visitors of all ages to step back in time.

Johnny Appleseed himself makes appearances at noon and 2:30 PM each day. Tucked between Cleveland and Akron near the Cuyahoga Valley, Hale Farm is an easy, gorgeous fall drive and one of the best living-history experiences in Northeast Ohio for families.