COLUMBUS – The Ohio History Connection will reopen Ohio Village for the summer season Saturday, May 25, with a full-day Exposition that reflects on the 50 years since its founding and looks forward to the next 50 years of storytelling in the living-history community.
The May 25 celebration will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will include activities centered around culture, fashion and technology from the turn of the 20th century. Those activities will include:
- A vintage “base ball” game played by 1860s-era rules.
- A 19th-century magic show.
- Live music and can-can dance performances.
- A petting zoo.
- An artisan market.
- Flea Circus performances.
This Opening Day Exposition also signals the start of a new era for Ohio Village and the Ohio History Connection’s entire Columbus campus on East 17th Avenue.
The Ohio History Connection has launched an ambitious and comprehensive renovation and revitalization project called Campus 2.OH to enhance and expand its spaces for a better visitor experience. Campus 2.OH is both a celebration and a preservation effort, helping to tell Ohio's story for the next 50 years and beyond.
This spring and summer will be the final time to visit Ohio Village in its current form, and one brand-new special event is planned. The 50 years of Ohio Village will be celebrated during Founders Day on Saturday, July 27 – the same date Ohio Village opened in 1974 – from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Featured programs will include live music from American Musical Productions, an array of local artisans and Vaudeville performances.
After the Ohio State Fair ends Aug. 4, Ohio Village will close until it reopens with a new and improved Village experience in 2026. Part of building a better Ohio Village includes the addition of a nature-based play space, a reimagined town center (for performances and more), new experiences for visitors, expanded food and beverage offerings, a stronger physical connection between the Ohio History Center, infrastructure upgrades and a safer experience (walkways, lights, connectivity, hardscape streets) for everyone.
“When Ohio Village is closed temporarily for construction through early 2026, we’ll still have Signature Events, and plans for them are underway,” said Megan Wood, Executive Director and CEO. “We can’t wait to let our members and visitors know more about these, and we are planning Ohio Village-related hard-hat tours and forum opportunities for Ohio History Connection members and other stakeholders.”
Other initiatives in the Ohio History Connection’s Campus 2.OH project also are beginning:
“We are excited about this ongoing work on the Columbus campus, and we look forward to sharing the results with all Ohioans,” said Neil Thompson, Manager of Media and Public Relations. “But first, we will celebrate another opening for Ohio Village and embark on the next 50 years of telling Ohio’s history there. We hope our visitors and members will gain a better understanding of the changes in store as they also experience the same feelings of joy and wonder a late-19th-century exposition event would bring to an Ohio town.”
During the season, Ohio Village will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Ohio Village is included with Ohio History Center admission, with tickets ranging from $10 to $16. Admission for members and children ages 3 and under is free. Parking also is free.
For more information, go to ohiohistory.org/visit/ohio-village.
For details about visual assets, email [email protected]. For additional images from last year’s Ohio Village reopening celebration, click HERE.
###
About the Ohio History Connection:
The Ohio History Connection is a statewide history organization with the mission to spark discovery of Ohio’s stories. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization chartered in 1885, the Ohio History Connection carries out history services for Ohio and its citizens focused on preserving and sharing the state’s history. This includes housing the State Historic Preservation Office and the official state archives and managing more than 50 sites and museums across Ohio. For more information, go to ohiohistory.org. The Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Columbus Foundation provide support for Ohio History Connection programs.
