Kroger Wellness Festival Set to Energize Downtown Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Final preparations are underway for the annual Kroger Wellness Festival, taking place this weekend in downtown Cincinnati. The two-day event will feature food, fitness, and entertainment as part of a push to promote healthy living.

The festival will transform Fifth Street into a hub for wellness activities, where attendees can explore more than 200 family-friendly experiences, all free of charge. Nico Urbin from Cobram Estate traveled from Sacramento, California, to showcase his extra virgin olive oil. ‘We look forward to actually educating about what we do with extra virgin olive oil and why you should have it,’ Urbin said.

In addition to local vendors, the festival will host participants from across the nation. Katie Caldwell, who drove from Chicago to promote Polar Seltzers, expressed her excitement about the variety of options available to festival-goers. ‘There are so many different brands to choose from and samples to try,’ Caldwell said.

Concerts at the festival will feature musical acts like the All-American Rejects on Friday and Third Eye Blind on Saturday night. The event will also host panels with celebrity guests, including actor Rob Lowe, chef Alex Guarnaschelli, MLB star Alex Rodriguez, Olympic medalist Laurie Hernandez, comedian Joel McHale, and MMA fighter Dustin Poirier.

For safety protocols, organizers have advised attendees to avoid bringing wagons, large carts, and strollers without children. Several streets around the festival site will be closed, with Fifth Street shutting down between Walnut Street and Columbia Parkway.

Organizers expect tens of thousands of people to participate in the festival, which runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on both days. Roads are scheduled to reopen Monday at 5 a.m. as the city prepares for the influx of visitors.