Welcome to the 56th annual Crooksville-Roseville Pottery Festival!
Each year a group of volunteer community organizers gathers together to plan and put on a great festival for our fellow neighbors, friends, and family of Roseville and Crooksville to honor all the great pottery history of this area. We love the rich history of this area and the generations of our family's that have put down roots here, worked in pottery manufacturers, and passed down the love of pottery craftsmanship to us all. The festival alternates between Crooksville hosting and Roseville hosting, so this year it was Roseville's time to shine!
The festival was held right in Roseville Village park, right next to our factory! People of this area know the building well as the old Nelson McCoy plant and this year the McCoy Pottery Museum folks brought out quite an amazing collection for the festival to see. Seeing the history in the pieces, the beautiful glazes, and the love from everyone over the collection was truly special. As all the factories in this area closed down throughout the years, the community started to forget just how special this pottery can be.
The festival starts each year with a formal plate-breaking ceremony. Twelve plates are handmade in the community with a unique design for that year. One plate is broken to signify the start of the festival, one plate is kept for permanent display – and the remaining plates are auctioned off with the proceeds supporting the Clay Center of Ohio. Local business from around Zanesville, Roseville, Crooksville help sponsor the festival each year, donating services and product to help make each festival a hit.
During the festival there are events and competitions the community participates in. There was a pizza eating competition sponsored by a local pizza place, our Pottery Queen's Court pageant for all ages in the community (our 2022 winners pictured below!), live music at night by local bands, a beer garden in the evening, pottery tours at our factory, bounce houses for the kids to play in all day, Mr. Pickles came and put on a great show for the kids as well, dance groups, horse-drawn carriage rides, and raffle tickets for prizes throughout the festival, and so much more!
The festival ended on a beautiful high note with a wonderful display of fireworks for everyone! The committee for the festival does such a great job each year and I know that everyone is looking forward for the 57th!
