Annual festivals thumb|right|Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center Athens is home to the annual Halloween Block Party, a massive international spectacle that draws attention from news media across the world each year. Ohio University's citation as the world's most haunted institution of higher education by the British Psychical Institute; Athens's citation as one of the 10 most haunted American cities; and the annual Halloween celebration, have dually added to Athens's reputation as one of the 10 most terrifying places on Earth and the "World Capital of Halloween." Athens was vaunted as one of the top fifteen most haunted cities in America on the Fox Family Channel special "Scariest Places On Earth" that aired on October 23, 2000. Locals with knowledge of the history of The Ridges criticized the Fox portrayal as sensationalistic and misleading on details of the situation.Evans, Chris. "Fox ghost story more of a fish story. " The Post. Wednesday, 25 October 2000. Accessed April 20, 2010. The block party has welcomed more guests each year, and festivities and security have grown in it for that reason. The event caters to roughly 20,000 to 30,000 dressed up partygoers on four closed blocks of uptown streets. Blackout Fest is held annually at The Union Bar & Grill and features many local, national, and international indie rock acts. The Athens Community Music Festival is held each August. In 2017 two dozen local bands were involved.The Athens News August 16th 2017 Concert "Under the Elms" is held on the OU College Green from June until early July with the 'Communiversity Band' (made up of OU faculty, students, alumni as well as community members) For many years, an annual Springfest was held on the OU Campus. Primarily due to changes in state alcohol laws, it was replaced by an annual event at Ervin's Big Red Barn (and field), a private "party-farm" just outside the city. After the move, the festival was called Derby days. The organization who coordinated the event was removed from campus in 2003. Starting in 2004, Ohio University Seniors Dominic Petrozzi and Timothy Kehoe created One Fest. The festival name is changed each year to represent the number of years it has been held (for example, 2011 was 8Fest). As of 9 Fest, the event has been held at its new location on West Union Street, just outside the campus. It has become one of the largest independent collegiate music festivals in the country, boasting previous performances by national recording artists such as Mike Posner, Machine Gun Kelly, Timeflies, Chip Tha Ripper, Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, Steve Aoki and more. in 2008, the name of the festival was changed to "The Number Fest" with an updated "edition" for each year it takes place. Number Fest - 14th Edition will be held on April 16, 2016. Lobsterfest is an annual free concert hosted by the university's All Campus Radio Network. Since 1983, the 970WATH-Power 105 Chili Bowl has been an annual event and each year raises money for a charity. Currently it takes place in October, at The Market on State. Hookah in the hills, an annual festival held twice a year at Poston Lake Music Park in the Spring and Fall, featuring the Columbus-based band Ekoostik Hookah, as well as other local bands. The annual Athens International Film and Video Festival is one of the few festivals that are on the official list of Academy Award-qualifying festivals. Ohio Brew Week, founded in 2005 as a way to increase commerce in the town of Athens while students were away for summer, has grown into a nine-day festival including dozens of Ohio craft breweries and hundreds of beers. Notable attendees have included Brooklyn Brewery president Steve Hindy and co-founder of Great Lakes Brewing Company Pat Conway. Events typically include keg tappings, live performances at local venues, and the "last call" street festival.
Annual festivals thumb|right|Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center Athens is home to the annual Halloween Block Party a massive international spectacle that draws attention from news media across the world each year Ohio University's citation as the world's most haunted institution of higher education by the British Psychical Institute; Athens's citation as one of the 10 most haunted American cities; and the annual Halloween celebration have dually added to Athens's reputation as one of the 10 most terrifying places on Earth and the "World Capital of Halloween" Athens was vaunted as one of the top fifteen most haunted cities in America on the Fox Family Channel special "Scariest Places On Earth" that aired on October 23 2000 Locals with knowledge of the history of The Ridges criticized the Fox portrayal as sensationalistic and misleading on details of the situationEvans Chris "Fox ghost story more of a fish story " The Post Wednesday 25 October 2000 Accessed April 20 2010 The block party has welcomed more guests each year and festivities and security have grown in it for that reason The event caters to roughly 20000 to 30000 dressed up partygoers on four closed blocks of uptown streets Blackout Fest is held annually at The Union Bar & Grill and features many local national and international indie rock acts The Athens Community Music Festival is held each August In 2017 two dozen local bands were involvedThe Athens News August 16th 2017 Concert "Under the Elms" is held on the OU College Green from June until early July with the 'Communiversity Band' (made up of OU faculty students alumni as well as community members) For many years an annual Springfest was held on the OU Campus Primarily due to changes in state alcohol laws it was replaced by an annual event at Ervin's Big Red Barn (and field) a private "party-farm" just outside the city After the move the festival was called Derby days The organization who coordinated the event was removed from campus in 2003 Starting in 2004 Ohio University Seniors Dominic Petrozzi and Timothy Kehoe created One Fest The festival name is changed each year to represent the number of years it has been held (for example 2011 was 8Fest) As of 9 Fest the event has been held at its new location on West Union Street just outside the campus It has become one of the largest independent collegiate music festivals in the country boasting previous performances by national recording artists such as Mike Posner Machine Gun Kelly Timeflies Chip Tha Ripper Wiz Khalifa Kendrick Lamar Steve Aoki and more in 2008 the name of the festival was changed to "The Number Fest" with an updated "edition" for each year it takes place Number Fest - 14th Edition will be held on April 16 2016 Lobsterfest is an annual free concert hosted by the university's All Campus Radio Network Since 1983 the 970WATH-Power 105 Chili Bowl has been an annual event and each year raises money for a charity Currently it takes place in October at The Market on State Hookah in the hills an annual festival held twice a year at Poston Lake Music Park in the Spring and Fall featuring the Columbus-based band Ekoostik Hookah as well as other local bands The annual Athens International Film and Video Festival is one of the few festivals that are on the official list of Academy Award-qualifying festivals Ohio Brew Week founded in 2005 as a way to increase commerce in the town of Athens while students were away for summer has grown into a nine-day festival including dozens of Ohio craft breweries and hundreds of beers Notable attendees have included Brooklyn Brewery president Steve Hindy and co-founder of Great Lakes Brewing Company Pat Conway Events typically include keg tappings live performances at local venues and the "last call" street festival