A panda-themed festival will visit Cincinnati for the first time in October 2026.
Panda Fest, one of the largest outdoor Asian food and culture festivals in the U.S., will come to life Oct. 16-18 at Smale Riverfront Park, according to a release from festival organizers.
The event will feature 90 food vendors, more than 30 merchandise vendors, traditional and contemporary cultural performances, interactive activities and "signature panda-themed experiences." Instagram videos show a panda-themed bounce house, a panda mascot and 15-foot inflatable panda.
Both local and national vendors will participate.
Food is at the center of Panda Fest, the release reads. Cuisine from previous festivals included mochi donuts, soufflé pancakes, king squid, dumplings,
grilled eel, shrimp tempura, candied hawthorn tanghulu (skewered berries coated in a hard sugar glazes) and shaobing (layered flatbread filled with various meats).
Food items will generally range from $7 to $25, but each participating vendor must offer at least one item priced under $10, according to the release. Festivalgoers must purchase tickets to the event.
What is Panda Fest?
Panda Fest was launched in 2024 in New York City as Panda Day. Founder Xuan “BiuBiu” Xu created the one-day event after watching panda videos on repeat while postpartum, she wrote in a first-person feature story for The Business Journals. She found the videos calming and grounding and wanted to "recreate even a fraction" of that feeling for others. She also noticed New York had a shortage of festivals that were authentic to modern Asian culture. She "saw a gap" and "filled it," she wrote.
Panda Day evolved into the multi-day Panda Fest and expanded to several cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Austin, Nashville, Washington, D.C., and more.
As the festival grows, "vendors – many of them small, family-run, immigrant-owned businesses – remain at the center of everything," Xu wrote in The Business Journals.
Panda Fest Cincinnati dates and hours
- Friday, Oct. 16, 4-10 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 18, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
How to get tickets to Panda Fest Cincinnati
Early-bird tickets will go on sale Thursday, Aug. 27, at 10 a.m. for $10. Tickets are limited to 1,000 per time slot and will be available through Sunday, Sept. 13, at 10 p.m. or until the allotted early-bird tickets sell out.
General admission tickets are $14, VIP tickets are $35, and Saturday admission is an additional $2. Gate admission will be available for $20, subject to venue capacity, with advance ticket holders receiving priority entry, according to the release.
Each ticket comes with a Cincinnati-themed panda pin and headband. VIP admission includes general admission benefits, expedited entrance, a Panda Fest bag and access to exclusive VIP areas and restrooms.
To purchase tickets, visit pandafests.com.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Panda Fest to visit Cincinnati. So, uh. What the heck is a Panda Fest?
