Downtown Milford will close three blocks of Main Street on Sept. 12 for a brand-new festival built around live music, food, chalk art, history tours and a community canoe-painting project.
Gather on Main runs noon to 4 p.m. and is free to attend. The Clermont Guardian reported the Eastside Business Alliance is organizing the event in partnership with the Historic Milford Association and the Greater Milford Area Historical Society, with support from the city of Milford.
The alliance, a Milford-based business group led by Elesa Labanz, Andrea Brady and Shelly West, called it a brand-new event for Milford in a Facebook post seeking volunteers for two-to-three-hour shifts between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Organizers are tying the festival to America250, the nationwide commemoration of the country's 250th anniversary that was marked July 4 but continues through the year. They describe Gather on Main as a celebration of "Main Street America" centered on Milford's own downtown block.
The America250 connection fits a pattern. At Milford's 64th annual Frontier Days on May 28, Milford-Miami Township Chamber of Commerce second vice president Ron Swogger told WCPO the theme was "America 250 Hometown Proud … So for us it's just a way to showcase everything we love about Milford and Miami Township area."
Milford's history anchors the pitch. The Rev. Francis McCormick, a Revolutionary War veteran, settled along the Little Miami River on a land grant in 1796. The settlement, once called Hageman's Mills, took the name Milford because it was the first safe ford across the river north of the Ohio. The city was incorporated in 1836 and gained city status in 1982.
Activities on Sept. 12 include live music, lawn games, chalk art and history tours. Attendees can buy a meal from a participating Main Street restaurant or bring their own picnic. The Community Canoe Project, a canoe-painting activity sponsored by the Clermont County Convention & Visitors Bureau, will be set up in front of Roads Rivers and Trails at 118 Main St.
The festival is centered at 101 Main St. Details at gatheronmainmilford.com.
What's ahead
- Saturday, Sept. 12, noon–4 p.m. — Gather on Main, downtown Milford (101 Main St.). Free admission.
- Volunteers needed: contact the Eastside Business Alliance at (513) 999-2484.
