GrowFest

Always the First Saturday in May!

Join us on Saturday, May 2, 2026 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 sourcing and growing favorite and hard-to-find plants to set you up for a rewarding and successful growing season. We’ll share details when we have them!

There will NOT be an online sale this year, so plan to come see us on May 2 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 topics related to urban agriculture and growing food. We’ll share the 2026 lineup when we have it.

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

Weather permitting, we’ll have kids’ activities happening all day for little ones and their caregivers.

Music

We’re excited to feature several local Cincinnati-area musicians during the festival! Stay tuned for the lineup.

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 & Public Transportation

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. Parking information will be added here as it becomes available.

Cincinnati Metro provides bus service via Route 43 that stops within a five-minute walk from the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati. Trip planning service is available  http://www.go-metro.com/how-to-ride.

Volunteering

We need lots of volunteer help to make GrowFest a success! If you want to help out, register as a CGC volunteer and we’ll make sure you’re the first to know when volunteer shifts open.