The Ohio Black Expo's Riverfront CultureFest is rolling back into downtown Columbus over Memorial Day weekend, taking over the Scioto Mile next Saturday and Sunday, May 23-24, for two full days of music, food, and family fun along the riverfront. Organizers are pitching the festival as a showcase of "BlackExpollence," complete with concerts, a kickoff parade, a family zone, and more than 100 vendors and food trucks. Evening headliners and community stages are slated to bring both national and local acts to the water's edge on both days.
Festival Details
According to Ohio Black Expo, the outdoor Riverfront CultureFest will be paired with a convention-style component that layers in workshops, panels, and networking sessions geared toward entrepreneurs and artists. The event page also outlines partner and sponsor activations and notes that a full, day-by-day lineup and festival map are posted on the site for anyone planning out their weekend.
Where And When
Genoa Park and the surrounding Scioto Mile parks will anchor the festival footprint, with stages, vendor rows, and family programming stretching out along the riverfront, per Columbus Underground. That event listing shows gates opening at about 11 a.m., with performances and activities running into the evening. Organizers are advertising long hours both days to leave room for the headline concerts.
Music, Parade And Community Programming
Festival organizers and local outlets say the weekend lineup includes big-name headliners and celebrity appearances spread across multiple stages, and NBC4 is already flagging the Ohio Black Expo as one of Columbus' major Memorial Day attractions. Experience Columbus includes the Riverfront CultureFest on its seasonal events calendar, noting that the expo typically draws thousands of attendees and features more than 100 vendors, food trucks, and family activities. The weekend will also bring back the Black Expollence kickoff parade and an HBCU college fair, giving the festival a mix of concert energy and community-focused programming.
Plan Your Visit
Tickets for convention sessions and certain reserved areas are available through the festival website, and organizers recommend checking the full schedule in advance so you can map out the acts and events you do not want to miss, according to Ohio Black Expo. Attendees should plan for downtown street closures and heavy crowds along the riverfront and might want to lean on public transit or rideshare to sidestep parking hassles. For accessibility information, maps and the most current lineup details, check the festival schedule and partner pages linked from the event site.
