Summer in Ohio means heat, occasional storms and a slew of things to do. Dayton and the Miami Valley are no exception, with a summer-long list of concerts, festivals, outdoor activities and free events. Among The Beach Boys at the Fraze, Dayton Dragons Baseball games and a handful of county fairs, every member of the family can find something they like. We have compiled an extensive list of events to fill up your summer and entertain the whole family.

Free Events

Sometimes you just need an inexpensive night out. Luckily, the region is ready to deliver just that with many free community events.

On the first Friday of each month, head to downtown Dayton or Middletown for their monthly First Friday events. In Dayton, each First Friday, held 5-10 p.m., features exhibit openings at art galleries, street performers and roaming entertainers, dining and shopping specials, and more. In Middletown, you’ll find a themed event (July’s theme is Ice Cream Social while September’s is Mrs. Roper Romp) that invites you to explore the city.

On the third Thursday of each month, head to West Milton for its monthly Third Thursday event. Each event features live music, crafts, local vendors, food trucks and more in a family-friendly atmosphere.

And on the second Saturday of each month, head up to Piqua for its 2nd Saturday Vendor Show. About 40 craft, antique and flea market vendors will set up booths in the Piqua Center for shoppers to peruse. Part of the proceeds are donated to the Miami Valley Veterans Museum.

Concerts

Music lovers will find themselves with a plethora of options all summer long.

For national touring acts, visit Fraze Pavilion or the Rose Music Center at the Heights. Featured acts include The Beach Boys (July 1, Fraze Pavilion), Jewel and Melissa Ethridge (Aug. 3, Rose Music Center), Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (Sept. 7, Rose Music Center), and Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band (Sept. 15, Fraze Pavillion).

For a more casual experience, try one of the local concert series. Levitt Pavilion hosts multiple free concerts a week, including performances from Cuban-Afro group OKAN (July 5), Blues artist Lauren Anderson (July 11) and singer-songwriter Ruthie Foster (Aug. 8). On Thursdays and Fridays, you can enjoy free concerts thanks to the RiverScape Summer Music series. Fridays on Prouty brings live music to Prouty Plaza in Troy. And if you want to get some shopping done while listening to local music, try Music at the Market at the 2nd Street Market. Held on Saturdays and Sundays, shoppers can meet with vendors while enjoying performances from a variety of artists.

In addition to these regularly scheduled performances, there are also community music celebrations you should put on your schedule. They include Rock the Hill in West Milton (Aug. 17), Tippapalooza (Aug. 31) and Troy Ohio Porchfest (Sept. 14).

Festivals

If the Miami Valley does one thing right, it’s a festival. All summer long, there will be cultural, car and art festivals—and, of course, county fairs, starting off with the Montgomery County Fair (July 7-13). The Clark County Fair (July 19-26) follows shortly after, then the Greene County Fair (July 28-Aug. 3) and Preble County Fair (July 27-Aug. 3). The Miami County Fair (Aug. 9-15) in Troy starts to round out the season, and the Great Darke County Fair (Aug. 16-24) closes out the region’s county fairs with a demolition derby, harness horse racing and motorcycle races.

In Dayton, there is the AES Ohio Summer in the City: Art in the City (Aug. 3), which includes live performances of dance, theater and music; live demonstrations of painting, sculpting and other artmaking; hands-on and interactive activities; and a juried art show. This festival will take place at multiple stages, sidewalks and streets in downtown Dayton. Another option for art lovers is Art on the Commons (Aug. 11), which will be returning for its 36th year in Kettering and features about 100 artists from around the country.

United Irish of Dayton Celtic Festival (July 26-28) and the Dayton Greek Festival (Sept. 6-8) are two popular festivals in Dayton, with the Celtic Festival expecting about 90,000 visitors to RiverScape MetroPark. Other cultural festivals you can check out include the African American Cultural Festival (Aug. 17-18), the Hispanic Heritage Festival (Sept. 21) and Oktoberfest (Sept. 27-29) on the grounds of the Dayton Art Institute.

For those looking for something unconventional, Gem City Comic Con (July 20-21) is sure to draw crowds at the Dayton Convention Center, and The Ohio Challenge (July 19-20) hot air balloon festival will be filling up Middletown.

You can celebrate the Fourth of July at the Centerville Americana Festival (July 3-4) and/or the July 4th PiquaFest (July 4).

For those car aficionados, the Thunderfest Cruise-In (July 17) in Middletown and Waynesville Annual Car Show (July 21) are perfect opportunities to check out vintage cars and spend time with family.

Food Festivals

Dayton is officially a foodie city with a variety of food festivals to visit. This summer, Fraze Pavilion will be hosting a few of these festivals, including Chicken Wing Fest (July 13) and Bacon Fest (Aug. 3). The Germanfest Picnic will be held Aug. 9-11 in St. Anne’s Hill, one of Dayton’s original German neighborhoods. All kinds of German food will be available, including the picnic’s famous schnitzel dinners. Also on Aug. 3 is the Down a River, Down a Beer, a craft beer tasting festival. The Fairborn Sweet Corn Festival (Aug. 17-18) offers a family fun event with sweet corn and barbecue offerings, and the Tour de Donut (Aug. 24) is a bicycling event with sugary incentives; each donut consumed and kept down results in 5 minutes deducted from the rider’s overall time. In September, you can enjoy Taste of the Oregon District (Sept. 14), where you can eat your way through the historic Oregon District near downtown Dayton, and the Dayton Vegan Food & Drink Festival (Sept. 15), to try out the area’s most delicious vegan foods.

Outdoors

Another way to have fun this summer enjoy the outdoors. A great place to start is Five Rivers MetroParks, which offers outdoors activities and classes all summer long. You can paddle the Great Miami River, with kayak rentals available Tuesday and Thursday; play in the Interactive Fountains at Festival Plaza; take fitness classes like Bootcamp with The Unit and Stay Fit with DCDC; or participate in the 2024 MetroParks Trail Challenge, which challenges participants to walk, cycle, paddle, mountain bike or horseback ride along 28 trails in the park system.

Additional local parks and nature areas include John Bryan State Park, Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve, Lost Creek Reserve and Koop Agricultural Heritage Center, Charleston Fall Preserve, Aullwood Audubon and the Beaver Creek Wetlands Reserve.

Looking for fresh air but not the physical activity? Head downtown for a Dayton Dragons baseball game. Even those who don’t call themselves baseball fans will enjoy the atmosphere, family entertainment and themed nights.