What is one sure sign that summer is approaching? It’s the annual appearance of the parish festivals listing in The Catholic Times.
Diocesan parishes will be hosting traditional festivals, garden parties, international festivals and Oktoberfests starting in June and ending in October. One of the biggest October events in central Ohio is the annual Italian Festival, which attracts thousands of guests to Columbus St. John the Baptist Church.
Some parishes have hosted festivals for a number of years, others are relative newcomers and some events were modified or canceled after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Among the festivals returning this year are the combined parishes of Powell St. Joan of Arc and Columbus St. Peter churches and Reynoldsburg St. Pius X.
Columbus St. Christopher Church is combining its festival with the Grandview Hop street festival from June through September on the last Saturday of the month.
A new event is the Bachtoberfest at Marysville Our Lady of Lourdes Church that will feature food and drink followed by a Baroque concert.
Attending a festival or parish event is a fun and easy way to support churches, schools and groups in their efforts to raise funds for their worthy endeavors.
Keep the festival list as a reference throughout the spring, summer and fall. It’s a good idea to check with the parish for any changes in schedules or postponements because of inclement weather.
The following is a list of parish festivals and events reported to The Catholic Times as of May 10:
JUNE
June 6-8
St. Catharine of Siena
500 S. Gould Rd., Columbus
5-11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
June 14-15
St. Mary
82 E. William St., Delaware
5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
June 14-15
St. John Neumann
9633 E. State Route 37, Sunbury
6-11 p.m. Friday, 5-11 p.m. Saturday
June 28-29
Holy Trinity-St. Joseph
225 S. Columbus St., Somerset
6-11 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m.-midnight Saturday (Garden Party)
June 29
St. Christopher
1420 Grandview Ave.
5-9 p.m. Saturday (part of Grandview Hop)
JULY
July 12-13
St. Timothy
1088 Thomas Lane, Columbus
6 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday
July 12-13
St. Joseph
613 N. Tuscarawas Ave., Dover
5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
July 13
St. Luke
307 S. Market St., Danville
5-10 p.m. Saturday
July 19-20
St. Matthew the Apostle
807 Havens Corners Rd., Gahanna
6-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
July 26-27
Immaculate Conception
100 Sherman St., Dennison
6-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
July 26-27
Immaculate Conception
414 E. North Broadway, Columbus
6-11 p.m. Friday, 5-11 p.m. Saturday
July 26-27
St. Margaret of Cortona
1600 N. Hague Ave., Columbus
6 p.m.-midnight Friday, 5 p.m.-midnight Saturday
July 27
St. Christopher
1420 Grandview Ave.
5-9 p.m. Saturday (part of Grandview Hop)
AUGUST
Aug. 2-3
Our Lady of Victory
1559 Roxbury Road, Columbus
6-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Aug. 2-3
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
3730 Broadway, Grove City
5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Aug. 2-3
St. Stephen the Martyr
4131 Clime Rd., Columbus
5 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Aug. 8-10
Holy Spirit
4383 E. Broad St., Columbus
6-11 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m.-midnight Friday, 5 p.m.-midnight Saturday
Aug. 9-10
St. Mary, Mother of God
684 S. Third St., Columbus
5 p.m.-11 p.m., Friday and Saturday
Aug. 9-10
St. Brendan
4475 Dublin Rd., Hilliard
6-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday (family fun hours 3-6 p.m. Saturday)
Aug. 9-10
St. Cecilia
434 Norton Rd., Columbus
5 p.m.-midnight Friday, 4 p.m.-midnight Saturday
Aug. 11
Immaculate Conception
215 E. North St., Kenton
Noon-7 p.m. Sunday
Aug. 16-17
St. Andrew
1899 McCoy Road, Columbus
5 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday
Aug. 16-18
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
600 Hill Road N., Pickerington
5-11 p.m. Friday, 2-11 p.m. Saturday, noon-4 p.m. Sunday
Aug. 22-24
St. Joan of Arc-St. Peter
10700 Liberty Road South, Powell
6-10 p.m. Thursday, 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Aug. 24
St. Pius X
1061 S. Waggoner Road, Reynoldsburg
5-10 p.m. Saturday
Aug. 30-Sept. 1
St. Michael
5750 N. High St., Worthington
7-11 p.m. Friday, 5-11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Aug. 31
St. Christopher
1420 Grandview Ave.
5-9 p.m. Saturday (part of Grandview Hop)
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 7
Blessed Sacrament
394 E. Main St., Newark
5:30-11 p.m. Saturday
Sept. 13-14
Our Lady of Peace
20 E. Dominion Blvd. Columbus
6-11 p.m. Friday, 5:30-11 p.m. Saturday (fall festival and chili cookoff)
Sept. 20-22
St. John Paul II Scioto Catholic Parish
524 6th St., Portsmouth
5:30 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Sept. 21
St. John Neumann
9633 E. State Route 37, Sunbury
5-10 p.m. Saturday (Oktoberfest)
Sept. 28
St. Christopher
1420 Grandview Ave.
5-9 p.m. Saturday (part of Grandview Hop)
OCTOBER
Oct. 11-13
St. John the Baptist
Hamlet and Lincoln Sts., Columbus
Italian Festival
5-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday, noon-7 p.m. Sunday
Oct. 19
St. Thomas Aquinas
144 N. 5th St., Zanesville
5:30 p.m. Saturday (Oktoberfest)
Oct. 20
Our Lady of Lourdes Church
1033 West Fifth St., Marysville
1-5 p.m. Sunday (Bachtoberfest)