Spring to bloom Uptown with return of Farmers Market, 4th Friday

Warm weather has arrived in Westerville and that means two of our most popular events are about to get Uptown hopping!

Uptown Westerville Inc.’s Saturday Farmers Market returns this week (May 21), and our first Mount Carmel-St. Ann’s 4th Friday Festival of the year follows next week, on May 27.  Here’s the deets:

Saturday Farmers Market
Our weekly Saturday Farmers Market makes its first appearance of 2022 on May 21. Central Ohio-grown food and produce will be offered each Saturday morning rain or shine, through Oct. 8. The Market is open from 9 a.m.-noon in the parking lots behind City Hall, 21 S. State St. A pre-event fitness activity is offered monthly beforehand in the City Hall Courtyard, by The Max Challenge of Westerville. 

Our vendors list is growing again! We will be up to 63 vendors on May 21, and we have a waiting list of another 28 who hope to join soon. Since opening the Farmers Market in 2018, our vendors list has grown by 15 percent each year. We take special care to avoid duplication and redundancy, so each exhibit you visit will offer a unique selection.

Chef Cindy also will be back this year! Her monthly lessons in farm-to-table cooking are scheduled to take place in the Ria Room, a soon-to-open event space that’s part of – and adjacent to – DiCarlo’s Pizza, 20 S. State St. (across the street from City Hall). Chef Cindy is scheduled to appear during our Saturday Farmers Market days on June 11, July 9, Sept. 10 and Oct. 8.

Come on out to the first 2022 Saturday Farmers Market May 21, and make us part of your weekly routine!

Mount Carmel-St. Ann’s 4th Friday
4th Friday returns for its first rendition of 2022 on May 27. 

Our monthly street festival is staged on State Street as well as sections of College Avenue, Main Street and Home Street on the 4th Friday of each month, from May through October. 

Essentially, all of our Uptown historic business district becomes a festival site for 4th Fridays. The streets are closed from 6-9 p.m. to accommodate the event.

Entertainment, musical acts and dozens of popup vendors set up throughout the district to sell goods or share information with visitors. (See the full list of registered popup vendors here.) 

The lead musical act for May 27, performing from the City Hall Courtyard at 21 S. State St., will be the country-inspired Luke Mossburg Music. Check out a selection of the group’s music at reverbnation.com/lukemossburg. Other live music will be offered on West Main Avenue, and a DJ from Tempo Entertainment will set up near the food court on East Home Street.

Food trucks join your favorite Uptown eateries to offer food to the 4th Friday crowds, which can range up to 20,000 people. The Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) where adults 21 and older can walk between sites with alcoholic beverages, expands this year. It will stretch from the Northstar Café at 109 S. State St., to Birdie Books & Cafe, 74-C N. State St. (The beverages must be in a DORA cup and only consumed within the DORA boundaries.)

Each 4th Friday has a theme. May’s is “Americana.” June follows with a “World of Dance,” then by “Listen to the Music” visits in July. August will be “all about Sports,” and in September comes “Homecoming.” The year’s 4th Fridays Festivals conclude in October with our traditional Midnight Madness theme for the Halloween season.

Science Street and Arts Alley
Be sure to visit Science Street (a.k.a. East Home Street) to check out some cool interactive science activities. Visiting for the May 4th Friday will be scientist Jack Brown Jr., with a planned Webb Space Telescope activity, and GrownNextGen, presenting in partnership with the Ohio Soybean Council to show how the next generation of the food industry hopes to feed the world. 

We’ve also just added Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, who will bring a turtle, snake and amphibian to the party! 

Roll on up to the festival!
Free and secure bicycle parking will be offered at this year’s Mount Carmel-St. Ann’s 4th Friday Festivals, at LifePoint Real Estate, 168 S. State St. (southeast corner or Walnut and State streets). Free minor bike maintenance will be offered at LifePoint by roll: bicycle company. Water, some freebies, and a chance to win a raffle also will be offered at the site. 

Bike with the whole family to the event and park your bikes at LifePoint, then stroll north on State Street into the heart of the festival. Be sure to sure to check out the 4th Friday activity on the front lawn of the Westerville Public Library, 126 S. State St. May’s activity on the Library lawn will be a preview of Westerville Parks & Recreation’s Civic Theater production of Junie B. Jones Jr. 

Enjoy a preview of songs and readings from the upcoming performance of play, then make a family-friendly craft inspired by the popular Junie B. Jones book series.

Arts Alley
And don’t forget Arts Alley! Arts Alley will return to West Main Street in May as well, courtesy of the Arts Council of Westerville. Near our David Myers Art Studio and Gallery, and Sunbear Studios and Gallery, artists will display their work, more live music acts will perform, and crafts activities for the kids will be offered.

Uptown looks forward to hosting your visit to our Mount Carmel-St. Ann’s 4th Friday Festivals in 2022!