Chief Glenna Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe will take the stage at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, as Great Council State Park in Xenia, Ohio opens its doors for a Heritage Festival that weaves together Native American stories, early settler histories, and the natural landscape that shaped a region. The free, all-day event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.—part of Ohio's yearlong America 250 celebration—invites families and history enthusiasts to step directly into the past through hands-on activities, live demonstrations, and conversations with historians and indigenous leaders.
Ohio's rich cultural heritage often lives in fragments across textbooks and museum walls, disconnected from the places where it actually unfolded. Great Council State Park, named for the historic council grounds that once brought Native American and European settlers together, offers something different: a chance to experience those stories in the landscape itself. As Governor Mike DeWine noted, the festival honors both the Native American and early European settler perspectives that shaped the region, while also acknowledging Old Chillicothe's role in Ohio's formation. This dual focus matters. Too often, heritage celebrations center one story while sidelining others. Here, the program deliberately elevates multiple voices—Chief Wallace's remarks open the day, and the Absentee Shawnee Tribe returns at 2:45 p.m. to share their own presentation, ensuring Native perspectives are central, not peripheral.
The day's programming reads like a carefully curated history lesson brought to life. Historian and author Peter Cozzens, whose book Tecumseh and the Prophet explores the Shawnee leader's legacy, will speak from 11 a.m. to noon and then meet with visitors for a book signing. At 1 p.m., Governor DeWine will unveil a painting by Doug Hall alongside remarks about the site's significance. Living historian Robert Alvin Crum will embody Daniel Boone during a 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. demonstration, while Terracon Archaeological Exploration offers a 3:30 p.m. window into how archaeologists uncover the region's material past. Guided tours of the Interpretive Center run twice—at noon and 2:30 p.m.—ensuring multiple entry points for curious visitors.
Beyond the formal programming, the festival embraces the sensory and communal. The Wild Ohio Harvest Kitchen serves free fried fish from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., connecting guests to the waterways and foodways of the region. Craft stations staffed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Watercraft, Greene County Parks and Trails, and the Beaver Creek Wetlands Association invite hands-on exploration. A local food truck will be on-site for lunch purchases. Community exhibits and artisan demonstrations populate the grounds, creating space for informal learning and conversation.
Logistics have been thoughtfully arranged. Free parking is at nearby Xenia High School, with a free shuttle service ferrying visitors to and from the park—a detail that removes barriers to attendance. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which operates 76 state parks and recently earned the 2025 National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management, has clearly invested in making this accessible.
Heritage festivals risk feeling like museum performances, distant and abstract. This one, by anchoring itself in a specific landscape, centering indigenous voices alongside historical expertise, and building in time for eating, making, and simply being present together, suggests something more vital: a community actively choosing to remember and learn in the same place where those stories belong.