COLUMBUS, Ohio— The 2022 Columbus Arts Festival, presented by the American Electric Power Foundation and produced by the Greater Columbus Arts Council (Arts Council), will feature more than 60 free performances spread over three stages throughout the Festival weekend, June 10-12. The downtown riverfront will come alive with everything from jazz, rock, reggae, folk, R&B and salsa music to storytelling, poetry, modern dance and theater.

ABC6 Bicentennial Park Stage
The ABC6 Bicentennial Park Stage will feature free headlining performances throughout the weekend. On Friday, June 10 at 8:30 p.m., the Festival welcomes Shadowbox Live to perform Flower Power: The Music and The Movement, a tribute to the musical stylings and cultural movements of the 1960s and 1970s. On Saturday, June 11 at 9 p.m., the stage hosts Edinburgh, Scotland indie rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks. Opening for We Were Promised Jetpacks is nationally touring Weakened Friends at 5 p.m., followed by Columbus favorite Mistar Anderson at 6:45 p.m. The evening performances are sponsored by Huntington National Bank and Worthington Industries Foundation.

The stage will play host to more performances throughout the Festival, including Al Son del Iya Salsa Latin Jazz Orquesta, Waves de Aché and TRANSIT ARTS on Friday. Saturday features dance and theater performances from Columbus Celtic Dancers, Columbus Children’s Theatre, MuLan Guzheng Ensemble, Movement Afoot and others. Sunday kicks off with Columbus Contemporary Dance Company, and includes TBD: The Improvised Musical, Hillel Folk Dancers and more before finishing out with the jazz stylings of Copacetic.

CoverMyMeds Big Local Music Stage

The Big Local Music Stage, sponsored by CoverMyMeds, returns under the train bridge on Rich Street near 400 West Rich. The stage is part of the Big Local Arts Village at the Festival’s Franklinton entrance, and will feature more than 20 performances with plenty of seating, tables, and food and beverage vendors nearby. Friday includes acts like Roots Society, A Cure For Love, Holly Moretti and Zoo Trippin’, while while Saturday features The Deal Breakers, Lily Bloom, Largemouth Brass Band, The Deeptones, and Kelly Zullo & The Invisible Circus. Sunday finishes out with Honey & Blue, James Quartey, and Topher James & the Biscuit Brigade, amongst others.

Cultural Arts Center Stage

The Cultural Arts Center Stage will host live music, poets, storytellers, novelists and short story writers on Saturday and Sunday. The smaller stage provides a quiet and shaded spot to enjoy performances in the Cultural Arts Center courtyard. On Saturday relax and experience a variety of writers and storytellers through groups like Thurber House’s Flip the Page Teen Literary Journal, Ohio Poetry Association, Eat Our Words and others. On Saturday at 5 p.m. the musical duo Starlit Ways will do an acoustic set followed by the Black Women Rise Poetry Collective and Writers’ Block Poetry Night. Sunday welcomes readings from Works of Freedom, The Columbus Anthology and a collection of poets.

Grass Patch Theatre
Sponsored by PNC and performed by Columbus Children’s Theatre, the Grass Patch Theatre near the Hands-On Activities Village offers an exciting schedule of events all three days of the Festival. Activities include onstage performances featuring highlights from the theater’s upcoming 2022-23 season on every even hour within Festival hours (10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.) Improvisation workshops involving students will occur at the top of every odd hour within Festival hours (11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.).

Stage performances at the Festival are complemented by a variety of street performers and musicians scattered throughout the Festival grounds.

See a complete list of performances at columbusartsfestival.org/visit/performance-schedule.

The ABC6 Bicentennial Park Stage has reserved VIP seating areas during evening performances for guests who purchased the Patron Package. The other two performance stages will have chairs and tables, with food and beverage vendors located nearby so patrons can cool down, enjoy a meal and watch one of Columbus’ many great entertainers.

Festival Hours: Friday, June 10 from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 11 from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; and Sunday, June 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Please note: on Friday and Saturday artist booths close at 9 p.m.; artists have the option to stay open later.)

To volunteer at the Columbus Arts Festival, please go to columbusartsfestival.org/engage/volunteer/.

For more information on the Columbus Arts Festival, call (614) 221-8625 or visit columbusartsfestival.org.

Download the Columbus Arts Festival app through the Apple app store or Google Play at guidebook.com/g/#/guides/columbusartsfestival2022.

For a selection of high-res images, visit the Festival’s press media page.

The Columbus Arts Festival is produced by the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

The 2022 Columbus Arts Festival is presented by the American Electric Power Foundation. Additional sponsors and partners include Bank of America, Bath & Body Works, Battelle, Cardinal Health, CDDC, CoverMyMeds, Gateway Film Center, Huntington National Bank, IGS Energy, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., King Business Interiors, Maker’s Mark, The Ohio State University, OSA Technology Partners, Paul-Henri Bourguignon Foundation, PNC, Rhinegeist, Toyota, White Castle, Whole World Lemonade and Worthington Industries Foundation. Media sponsors include ABC6/FOX28, CD92.9, Lamar Outdoor, Ohio Magazine, Orange Barrel Media, RSVP, WCBE, WOSU Public Media and WSNY.

Mission of the Greater Columbus Arts Council: To support and advance the arts and cultural fabric of Columbus. www.gcac.org

The Greater Columbus Arts Council receives major financial support from the City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners and the Ohio Arts Council. None of these funds are used for the production of the Columbus Arts Festival.

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