The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival in Waynesville is Worth a Road Trip — Even if You Don't Like Fermented Cabbage

Will the entirety of downtown Waynesville smell like stinky feet from all the cooking cabbage? Only one way to find out.

Oct 9, 2018 at 3:50 pm
This woman is very happy because she is eating a German sundae: mashed potatoes topped with sauerkraut. - Photo: Provided
Photo: Provided
This woman is very happy because she is eating a German sundae: mashed potatoes topped with sauerkraut.

Nothing says fun like fermentation!

click to enlarge These are tubs of sauerkraut from official sponsor Frank’s Kraut in Fremont, Ohio. - Photo: Provided
Photo: Provided
These are tubs of sauerkraut from official sponsor Frank’s Kraut in Fremont, Ohio.

The 49th-annual Ohio Sauerkraut Festival in Waynesville features more than 460 craft vendors from over 25 states and a whole lot of cabbage. Started in 1970, the first fest served 528 pounds of sauerkraut to about 1,500 guests. Today, guests — of which there are approximately 350,000 — eat more than 7 tons of kraut.

click to enlarge Cute downtown Waynesville - Photo: Provided
Photo: Provided
Cute downtown Waynesville

Dine on dishes ranging from sauerkraut pizza and German sundaes (mashed potatoes topped with kraut) to Polish cabbage soup and sauerkraut donuts.

9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Free admission. Downtown Waynesville, sauerkrautfestival.waynesvilleohio.com