During the COVID-19 pandemic, Granville residents stayed put inside their homes, and connections with neighbors and friends became impossible out of fear of spreading the virus. Interactions often only took place through screens, whether working or learning from home via Zoom or reaching out to loved ones through a much needed video call.
And while schools have long been back in session, masks a rarity to see out in public and social distancing now a term for the textbooks, lingering pandemic-age restrictions and practices still put a damper on residents wishing for a pre-pandemic sense of community.
But the Granville Community Foundation hopes to restore and strengthen the sense of community in Granville by bringing back an iconic event that dates back to the 1800’s.
Prepare to grab a picnic basket, and head to the Great Granville Picnic next summer on August 15, 2026. A decade after its last appearance, the picnic will make a return just in time to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
Billie Zimmers, the marketing chair for the Granville Community Foundation, said the event aims to create connections by bringing together community organizations, businesses and residents.
“Between political divides, COVID, and people coming inside and doing more online, people sometimes don’t know their neighbors…so we felt we needed to bring the community back,” Zimmers said.
Aaron Olbur, the Granville Community Foundation Ex-Officio Representative for the Village of Granville is working on approving the picnic with the village. According to Olbur, many residents have missed the picnic and are excited for its return.
“Many of us have been wanting it and were here when other ones have happened,” Lesa Miller, the retired Program Director of the Granville Recreation District, said. Miller has played a part in planning many of the past picnics while working there.
Part of the reason for bringing the picnic back is to make it part of the Ohio-wide celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary.
The picnic fits well with the Ohio bicentennial celebration theme for the month of August. Each month of 2026 has its own bicentennial celebration theme decided by the America-250 Ohio Commission.
“July and August were the big ones, because that’s fairs, festivals and picnics, and that’s why we have to get this done,” Zimmers said.
The 2026 picnic will take place in the same location as past picnics, on North Plum Street and West Broadway. The tables will be in the street, where they will be in lines of 14.
“So there’s eight chairs at a table, so (residents) would reserve a table and then bring however many people they wanted,” Miller said.
Tables will cost $25 to reserve, but the picnic itself is free to attend, and families are welcome to bring food and eat on the lawn as well.
When families purchase a table, they are tasked with decorating the table to best fit whatever theme is chosen for that section of tables. There are three sections of tables, so there will be a different theme for each section that relates to American or Granville history. The themes are still being decided by organizers, but there is a contest for best table decorations.
Activities at the picnic will include live music, games and contests such as a pie eating contest or baking contest. At past picnics, judges at the baking contest chose the best baked good at the picnic and then auctioned it off to the highest bidder.
The Great Granville Picnic may also partner with local restaurants next year. The Granville Community Foundation will reach out to local restaurants to see if there is interest in offering picnic baskets that families can purchase for the event, taking the stress out of preparing a picnic meal.
According to the Granville Times archives, the Great Granville Picnic has been a summertime tradition in Granville since 1884, though it went by many names. Often, it was associated with the Fourth of July.
At the earliest recorded 1884 picnic, The Granville Times wrote that the Fourth of July Social was a “magnificent affair.” The paper reported that “ice cream, cake and other nice things,” were available at the picnic. The paper also reported that many in attendance felt so moved to sing patriotic songs like The Star Spangled Banner.
The Granville Community Foundation aims to tie in all of the above, connection, history and celebration to this year’s picnic.
“We want to build community. It just all fits together. It was telling us, we’ve got to do this,” Zimmers said.
Maddie Luebkert writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.