First annual Columbus ArborFest at Whetstone Park

Join Clintonville GreenSpot for the first Columbus ArborFest at Whetstone Park on Saturday, August 24, 2024 from 1-5 pm.

Columbus ArborFest is a celebration of the trees, plants, waterways, animals, and insects of Columbus.

The festival is free to attend. There is live music, food trucks, local exhibitors, a native plant sale, and activities for adults and children alike.

The festival is a collaboration between Green Columbus, the City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, and the Clintonville GreenSpot committee.

The location of Columbus ArborFest is uniquely positioned to immerse festival-goers in a wide range of local ecosystems. With Whetstone pond to the North, the Park of Roses to the East, Adena Brook and the Whetstone Prairie to the South, and the Olentangy River to the West, attendees will connect with nature in all directions.

Fountain surrounded by hot pink roses at the Park of Roses in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus Park of Roses

Columbus ArborFest features

Local community groups will be hosting walking tours for anyone looking to explore, ask questions, and learn more about these areas.

Exhibitors representing many of the city’s wonderfully diverse non-profit organizations will share their work at the festival.

Vendors specializing in local flora will host a native plant sale where attendees can find ecosystem-boosting plants to fill their gardens.

Families will have their pick of kid-friendly activities in the “Seedling Center”. Boasting educational exhibits of live plant, animal, and insect specimens, a scavenger hunt covering the whole park, hands-on arts projects, and kid-friendly performances that include a dance class and children’s story time – plenty to keep families engaged at the festival!

Other organizations include Master Gardeners who can answer all manner of gardening questions, the OSU Bugmobile, a mobile insect zoo, and the city arborists who will perform a ceremonial tree planting.