Weather put a damper on the first day of the Ohio Black Expo: Riverfront Culture Fest, with some vendors packing up ahead of the parade.
The two-day event celebrates Black excellence and culture at Genoa Park, 303 W. Broad St. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. May 23-24.
The National Weather Service forecast rain and thunderstorms for May 23, and a Dispatch journalist at the Black Expo saw some vendors packing up ahead of the noon kickoff parade amid heavy wind.
The event features over 100 vendors and a number of Black performers. Social media posts by the expo pledged that the event would move forward rain or shine.
The Black Expo is one of three Columbus festivals scheduled for Memorial Day weekend: The Asian Festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. May 23 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 24 at Franklin Park, 1755 E. Broad St. Land-Grant x Jeni’s Strawberry Jam takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 23-24 at Land-Grant Brewing Co., 424 W. Town St.
Public safety and breaking news reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rain, wind dampening Ohio Black Expo, Columbus Asian Festival
Reporting by Bailey Gallion, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
