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The Weekender

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Oktoberfest All Weekend, Crew at Home and Ohio State at Texas

Oktoberfest owns the fairgrounds Friday through Sunday, while Saturday night puts Crew–Red Bulls and Ohio State–Texas on the clock at the same 7:30 hour. Pick your Saturday lane early; Kin has the rest of the weekend mapped.

Fri, Sep 11 – Sun, Sep 13

From the newsroom

This weekend has one big all-weekend anchor and one very specific Saturday-night problem: everybody is trying to be somewhere at 7:30.

Columbus Oktoberfest runs Friday through Sunday at the fairgrounds, which makes it the easiest default move of the weekend. Admission is free, there’s a huge amount of covered space, and you can make an afternoon, dinner or whole night out of it.

But Saturday is where you have to make a call. The Crew host Red Bull New York at 7:30. Ohio State kicks off at Texas at 7:30. Unless somebody invents a way to be at the Crew match and in Austin at the same time, pick your lane before dinner.

The rest of the weekend is where we did the digging for you. Honeyfest gives families a free road-trip move. VIVO puts chamber music inside Natalie’s Friday and the Southern Theatre Sunday. PBJ & Jazz gives you a free Saturday family hour. And if you’re already out, we found verified Black-owned stops worth working into the route.

Right now, Friday and Saturday look like the cleaner outdoor days. Sunday is the one I’d keep flexible until we get closer.

Pick the move. Check the weather. Spend on purpose.

Welcome home.

THE MAIN EVENT

Columbus Oktoberfest gets the Main Event slot because this is the move you can build an entire weekend around without much explanation. You can pull up Friday after work, make Saturday an all-day situation or use Sunday as the slower family move. Admission is free. Parking is $15. Food and beverage purchases are cashless; organizers say cash can be converted onto a festival card on site. The fairgrounds setup also gives the festival a weather advantage if Sunday’s forecast deteriorates

Columbus Oktoberfest 2026 event artwork

Columbus Oktoberfest 2026

Columbus Oktoberfest brings three days of German food, beer, live music, dancing, and family fun to the Ohio Expo Center.

  • Fri, Sep 11, 9:15 PM
  • Ohio Expo Center / Ohio State Fair Grounds, Columbus
  • Free

The moveIf you want the biggest crowd and full-night energy, go Saturday. If you want less competition from football and soccer, Friday evening or Sunday afternoon is the smarter play.

PICK YOUR VIBE - FRIDAY NIGHT

FEATURED EVENTS

SATURDAY’S BIG PULL-UPS

FEATURED EVENTS

SUNDAY RESET

FEATURED EVENTS

  • CMA Free Sundays

    • Sun, Sep 13, 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM
    • Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus
    • Free

  • VIVO Hope

    • Sun, Sep 13, 5:00 PM
    • Southern Theatre, Columbus
    • $25 reserved seating; pay-what-you-want general admission available at the door.

Keep the dollar moving

THE BLACK-OWNED DETOUR

Need a different kind of stop?

Before you pull up

WEEKEND WEATHER

Friday: roughly around 80°F, with a generally favorable outdoor window.

Saturday: warmer, around the mid-80s, with mostly sunny conditions currently favored.

Sunday: the least settled day in the current forecast; some forecast guidance shows a shower/thunderstorm possibility.

The practical call: Friday and Saturday are currently the safest days to build around outdoor events. Keep Sunday flexible and recheck Thursday morning. Oktoberfest’s covered footprint gives it an advantage if the forecast turns.

Source: National Weather Service

The shortlist

  • Friday night: Start Oktoberfest opening night—or go smaller with VIVO’s Beer & Beethoven.
  • Saturday daytime: Taste of Downtown for adults; PBJ & Jazz if you’ve got the kids.
  • Saturday night: Pick your team early—Crew vs. Red Bull New York or Ohio State at Texas. Both start at 7:30.
  • Sunday reset: VIVO Hope at the Southern Theatre.
  • Free move: Lithopolis Honeyfest.
  • Family move: PBJ & Jazz Saturday at noon.
  • Black-owned stop: Cafe Creole in King-Lincoln Bronzeville.
  • If you only do one thing: Columbus Oktoberfest.

KNOW A SPOT WE MISSED?

Help build the map

Own or know a Black-owned business Central Ohio should be able to find? Add it to Around The Way.

Browse / add on Around The WayAnd if your business is hosting something, submit it to the Kin events calendar for future Weekender consideration.

And send this to the person in the group chat who is still asking what everybody is doing Saturday.

Your Kin,

DaVante'

P.S. The Weekender is supposed to become the thing you know is coming every week—the guide you check before making plans and the link somebody drops in the group chat when nobody can agree on where to go. We’re building the habit now.

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