| ComFest | |
|---|---|
 The 2007 ComFest logo, designed by Jason Kroninger | |
| Status | active |
| Genre | festivals |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Venue | Goodale Park |
| Location(s) | Columbus, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 39°58′31″N83°0′24″W / 39.97528°N 83.00667°W |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 51–52 |
| Inaugurated | 1972 |
| Website | www |
ComFest (officially The Community Festival) is a free, non-corporate, [1] music and arts annual festival currently held each June at Goodale Park [2] in the Victorian Village area of Columbus, Ohio.
The festival bills itself as "The Party with a Purpose". [3] To accomplish this goal, the festival relies on community members to work together in the planning and operation of the festival serving on committees and work teams including clean-up and recycling, safety and first aid, entertainment, street fair, and the "World Peace Rocks Forever Committee".
The festival was first held in 1972 [1] as a showcase for a collection of community organizations including the Columbus Free Press , Free Health Clinic, Food Co-op, Tenants Union, Crisis Hotline, and Recycling Center. The festival continues to provide a forum for alternative lifestyles and collective activity.
Beer from the Columbus Brewing Company is sold in large, colorful mugs [1] to fund the cost of the festival itself and to raise money for community projects and grants. All tips from the beer booths go to homeless shelters.
The 45th ComFest was held June 23–25, 2017. [4] Its theme was "The people united will never be defeated." The featured organization was Community Refugee & Immigration Services; the honored artist was fiddler and singer Megan Palmer. [4]
The 2019 ComFest was held June 28–30. [2]
The 48th ComFest will go virtual for the first time in 2020, as most live events were cancelled caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 50th ComFest returned to Goodale Park June 24–26, 2022.
The 52nd ComFest will be held June 28–30, 2024.
Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest after Chicago, and the third-most populous U.S. state capital after Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas. Columbus is the seat of government of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses ten counties in central Ohio. It had a population of 2,138,926 in 2020, making it the largest metropolitan area entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest metro area in the U.S.
Lincoln Square on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the city's 77 community areas. It encompasses the smaller neighborhoods of Ravenswood, Ravenswood Gardens, Bowmanville, Budlong Woods, as well as Lincoln Square itself.
The Short North is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, United States, centered on the main strip of High Street immediately north of the Arena District and extending until just south of the University District and Ohio State University. It is an easy walk from the convention center or Nationwide Arena district to the south, Spanning the length of High Street from the north side of Goodale Street to the south side of 7th/King Avenue. It is flanked by Victorian Village to the west and Italian Village to the East. The Short North is a densely-populated commercial and residential district, with especially high pedestrian use during its monthly "Gallery Hop" and other local and downtown events.
The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a nonprofit charitable organization with an annual summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The festival features a variety of artists and music from around the world and is sure to include a number of local artists.
Dullstroom, also known as Emnothweni, is a small town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town lies 35 kilometres north of Belfast and some 53 kilometres south-west of Lydenburg on the R540 road.
Victorian Village is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, United States, north and near west of downtown. It is an established neighborhood built when a streetcar line first ran along Neil Avenue around 1900 with a fair number of established trees for an urban setting. To preserve, protect and enhance the unique architectural and historical features, the Victorian Village Historic District was established in 1973. Columbus Monthly named this neighborhood the top place to live for Arts and Entertainment, with fun right around the corner in the Short North as its neighborhood hangout.
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
Heritage of Pride (HOP), doing business as NYC Pride, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that plans and produces the official New York City LGBTQIA+ Pride Week events each June. HOP began working on the events in 1984, taking on the work previously done by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee organizers of the first NYC Pride March in 1970. HOP also took over responsibility for the operations of NYC's Pride Festival and Pride Rally. It was that first march that brought national attention to 1969's Stonewall Riots. The late sixties saw numerous protests and riots across the United States on many social injustices and from general political unrest including the war in Vietnam.
Two Brothers Brewing Company is an independently owned Illinois-based microbrewery founded by brothers Jim and Jason Ebel in 1996. The brothers brought their knowledge of different brewing styles to the Chicago craft brew market after living in Europe and experiencing the variety of beers available there. Jim and Jason started the business using bulk milk tanks converted into fermenters that were donated to them by their grandfather who was a retired dairy farmer. Two Brothers Brewing has now been in business for over 20 years and has opened multiple locations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as one in Arizona.
Harrison West is a historic urban neighborhood located northwest of downtown Columbus, Ohio. It sits on several blocks along the Olentangy River and includes the western part of the Near Northside Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The character of the neighborhood is similar to Victorian Village, which sits just to the east and is more well-known.
Goodale Park is a public park in the Victorian Village area of Columbus, Ohio. It was donated to the city in 1851 by Lincoln Goodale. For a few months during the Civil War, it was a staging area for Union troops known as Camp Jackson. ComFest, a large, free, multi-day, non-corporate, music and arts annual festival, is held in the park in June.
Outside Lands, formerly known as the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, is a three-day music, art, food, wine and cannabis festival held annually in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Multi-genre and multi-generational, it is the largest independently owned music festival in the United States. It was founded in 2008 by Another Planet Entertainment, Starr Hill Presents, and Superfly.
The Regina Folk Festival (RFF) is an annual music festival held in Victoria Park in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. A three-night and two-day event usually held the second weekend of August, the RFF attracts more than 35,000 people. It runs with the help of approximately 650 volunteers, 11 board members, and seven paid staff members.
Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team is a 2009 American documentary film chronicling the history of the Seattle SuperSonics. The SuperSonics were a professional basketball franchise based in Seattle, Washington, that was a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Sonics played from 1967 until 2008, but relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and were renamed as the Thunder.
The culture of Columbus, Ohio, is particularly known for museums, performing arts, sporting events, seasonal fairs and festivals, and architecture of various styles from Greek Revival to modern architecture.
Oktoberfest, USA is an annual celebration held in La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, usually on the final week of September and into the beginning of October. It is one of the largest, and longest running Oktoberfest celebrations in the Midwestern United States. The celebration was first held in 1961, and today draws crowds of up to 150,000 people annually.
Seattle Pride refers to a series of events which are held annually throughout the month of June to celebrate LGBT Pride in Seattle, Washington. Seattle Pride also refers to the nonprofit organization Seattle Out and Proud which coordinates and promotes LGBTQIA+ events and programs in Seattle year-round including the Seattle Pride Parade.
Live On The Green(LOTG) is a free outdoor music festival in Nashville, Tennessee produced and presented by local radio station WRLT Lightning 100 that showcases the city's emerging musical talent and highlights well-known national acts. Since its first year in 2009, it has been held at Public Square Park in downtown Nashville adjacent to the historic Metropolitan Courthouse and attracts over 600,000 fans from all 50 states and 15 countries. It has been held every year except 2020 and 2021 when it was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the radio station instead hosted live performances and interviews with the artists. The festival hosts two stages showcasing the city's emerging musical talent and highlights well-known national acts, and also includes food trucks, vendors, and a VIP experience.
The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The pandemic affected the city of Columbus, Ohio, as Ohio's stay-at-home order shuttered all nonessential businesses, and caused event cancellations into 2021. The shutdown led to protests at the Ohio Statehouse, the state capitol building.
The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department manages parks, recreational facilities, and grounds in Columbus, Ohio. The department oversees 370 parks on about 13,500 acres (5,500 ha). The department also maintains 29 community centers, five athletic complexes, six golf courses, 120 miles (190 km) of trails, five splash pads and interactive fountains, eight pools, an indoor aquatic center, 14 nature preserves, three reservoirs, five dog parks, and a skate park.