GrowFest

Always the First Saturday in May!

Our community has spoken: We need camaraderie and conversations, accessible learning opportunities and access to hard-to-find materials. So we created GrowFest!

Join us on Saturday, May 3 from 9am to 3pm for a day-long festival featuring vegetables, herbs, pollinator-friendly perennials and native plants as well as plenty of people, products and information sessions to help you feel like part of a community that’s growing together. Our Hauck Botanic Garden home will be clad in its spring finest, and we’ll have the fun stuff that makes for a good festival, too.

Whether you’ve never tended a plant before or you’ve been growing for decades…whether you have a backyard plot or a bed in a community garden or some pots on your balcony…we’re here to help you find success on your terms.

We can help you find the best materials. We know which plants grow each and every month of the year in our region. We know where to find the best plants and seeds that thrive in our climate. And we can help you set up your garden for success, no matter where you live and garden—even if, like us, you’re in the middle of the city! More than anything, we’re here to help keep you from quitting. The benefits of gardening are bountiful, and no one should be excluded from experiencing them.

Because at the CGC, no one grows alone!

Plants

We’re sourcing and growing favorite and hard-to-find plants to set you up for a rewarding and successful growing season, including:

Classic warm weather crops
CGC-grown heirloom vegetables
A wide variety of herbs
Pollinator-friendly perennials native to North America
Native plants appropriate for spring planting, including many shade-loving species

There will NOT be an online sale this year, so plan to come see us on May 3 between 9am and 3pm for the in-person festivities! First come, first served. Come early for the best selection, then stay for the rest of the day’s activities.

Educational Sessions & Demos

Throughout the day, we’ll have free educational speakers, panels and demonstrations around all kinds of topics related to urban agriculture and growing food. Check back for the lineup!

Green Flea

The Green Flea is a booth at GrowFest that turns donated used tools and garden treasures into funds for the CGC. Whether you donate an item, shop the booth or both, you’re directly supporting our work. Learn more about the Green Flea and how you can help!

Kids’ Activities

Coming soon…stay tuned!

Music

We’re excited to feature several local Cincinnati-area musicians during the festival. We’ll share the schedule once it’s finalized.

Food, Drinks & Fun

We’ll have food trucks, a beer garden area, our beloved bake sale, raffle prizes, vendors and kids’ activities, so there’s something for the whole family to enjoy.

Plant Sitters

We want you to be able to attend an educational session, grab a bite to eat or enjoy the grounds unencumbered! You can drop your purchases off at our Plant Sitters booth, located in the Green Learning Station parking lot, then pick them up on your way home.

Item Pickup

Don’t want to carry your purchases to your car? No problem! We will have friendly volunteers available to help load your car. Just pull up to the reserved spots on Oak Street (facing Reading Road) near our driveway.

Location & Parking

GrowFest will take place at the Civic Garden Center: 2715 Reading Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45206.

Parking will NOT be available on our grounds or in our Green Learning Station parking lot due to festival events. Thanks to the generosity of Children’s Hospital, we’re happy to offer parking options within easy walking distance to our grounds:

538 Oak Street (no parking in the last two rows along Linton) — handicap accessible parking will be available in this lot (across the street from our grounds)
400 Oak Street
2806 Reading Road
624 Oak Street