What's Happening Around Medina & Across Ohio: Late September & October 2026

 

Ohio Renaissance Festival

Waynesville · Weekends through November 1, 2026

One of the largest Renaissance fairs in the Midwest, the Ohio Renaissance Festival near Waynesville is in the heart of its season and runs every weekend through Sunday, November 1. Set within a permanent sixteenth-century-style village along East State Route 73 in Warren County, it brings costumed performers, live jousting, working artisan shops, and food straight out of a medieval feast.

Every weekend has its own theme, which keeps each visit fresh. In the weeks ahead you can catch Highland Weekend (September 26-27), 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.

This one is especially close to our hearts: Glasshouse Realty has a billboard presence out at the festival grounds, so as you make your way to the gates you may just spot our sign along the road. It is a small sign of how connected our team is to this corner of Warren County, and a wonderful way to spend a fall day. For jousting fans, costume lovers, and anyone with a taste for turkey legs, it is essential Southwest Ohio.

The heart of our spotlight this month, Medina County, throws a wonderful one-day celebration on Saturday, September 26. The Medina Fall Festival takes over the historic Public Square in the city of Medina from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM in conjunction with the farmers market, with a hay maze, pumpkin painting, a chili cook-off, an apple cider press demonstration, horse rides, live music, face painting, a balloon artist, and a costumed puppy parade. It is free, family-friendly, and pure small-town charm on one of Ohio's most beautiful town squares.

When the square winds down, the celebration keeps rolling. St. Paul's Episcopal Church hosts its 8th annual Medina-area Oktoberfest from 1:00 to 8:00 PM at 317 East Liberty Street, with German food, live music and dancing, and locally brewed Oktoberfest beers from six area breweries at stations around the grounds. A full day in Medina means square-side cider in the morning and a stein in hand by evening, all in one of Northeast Ohio's fastest-growing counties.

Medina's growth is no accident: between its small-town downtown, ridgeline views, and an easy reach to both Cleveland and Akron, it has become a magnet for families looking for a real community with room to grow. If you have been curious about the county that keeps leading Northeast Ohio's growth numbers, this Saturday is the perfect introduction.

Now in its 46th year, the Germantown Pretzel Festival is a Montgomery County institution and one of the tastiest weekends in the Miami Valley. On Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, Veterans Memorial Park in Germantown fills with pretzels in every form, dozens of craft and food vendors, live music on two stages, carnival rides, and a beer garden, all with free admission.

The festival has drawn crowds since 1980 and remains gloriously old-school: a park full of neighbors, handmade crafts, and, of course, warm soft pretzels around every corner. It is an easy, affordable day trip from Dayton, Centerville, Kettering, and everywhere in between, and a lovely way to spend a late-September weekend.

Clark County's Heritage of Flight Festival returns to downtown New Carlisle October 2-4, and its signature moment is the Annual Parade of Planes on Saturday morning, October 3, when historical and modern aircraft roll down the streets of this small town that has deep roots in aviation history. It is a one-of-a-kind spectacle you simply cannot see most places.

Around the parade, the weekend offers a main-stage lineup with live entertainment, carnival rides and games, a classic car cruise-in, horse-drawn carriage rides, a pancake breakfast, and food vendors all weekend. Between the aircraft and the small-town atmosphere, it is a wonderful pick for families, history buffs, and anyone who loves a classic Ohio festival.

On the shores of Lake County, the village of Madison hosts its Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 3 from 1:00 to 7:00 PM, and it is the kind of friendly, low-key celebration Northeast Ohio does so well. Live music, food trucks, fest beers, three party tents, and games like Jumbo Jenga, cornhole, and Baum-Schlagen fill the afternoon.

Madison sits in the heart of the Lake County lakeshore corridor Glasshouse Realty serves through its Cleveland-area offices, a corner of Ohio known for its lake views, wineries, and tight-knit villages. October weekends along the shore have a rhythm all their own, and this little Oktoberfest is a perfect sample: live music, local flavor, and neighbors catching up outdoors before the cold settles in.

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, on Sunday, a parade through one of Ohio's most scenic rural townships. Admission and parking are free, with a free shuttle from the grounds at 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 stayed the same for generations. Come hungry, grab a pancake breakfast, wander the vendor rows, and watch the weigh-off. It is an excellent reason to take the scenic drive into Geauga County, where autumn colors are at their peak.

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 apple cider, cook over open fires, and make apple butter the old-fashioned way, while a pumpkin patch and living-history village invite visitors of every age to step back in time.

Johnny Appleseed himself makes appearances at noon and 2:30 PM each day, a fitting touch for a festival about apples and heritage. Tucked near the Cuyahoga Valley between Cleveland and Akron, Hale Farm is an easy, gorgeous fall drive, and the harvest festival is one of the best living-history events in the region for families.

On the second full weekend of October, Main Street Waynesville becomes one of Ohio's most delicious places to be. The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival, October 10-11, brings roughly 450 juried artisans to this historic antiques town, along with sauerkraut in every imaginable form: kraut donuts, kraut pizza, kraut-based sausages, and the traditional varieties the festival has perfected over decades. Admission is free.

It overlaps beautifully 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. The mix of fine crafts, quirky food, and a genuinely beautiful Ohio Main Street makes it one of the most anticipated weekends in Warren County all year.

Warren County's other charming historic downtown gets its own Oktoberfest the second weekend of October. The Lebanon Oktoberfest, October 9-10, fills downtown Lebanon with a biergarten, live music, and local vendors, all organized as a fundraiser for the Miller Ecological Park Foundation. Good beer, good cause, and one of the prettiest squares in Southwest Ohio.

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 back downtown. Grab a stein, listen to the band, and see why so many families are putting down roots in this corner of Warren County.