This Week in Dayton: Oktoberfest,
Funk at The Rose, and New
Eats in the Suburbs.

Fresh for the week of September 21-27, 2026: the Dayton Art Institute's Oktoberfest weekend headlines the calendar with live music on two stages, the Flashback Funk Fest fills The Rose with Morris Day & The Time and The Ohio Players, West Side Story takes the Schuster Center stage, and the Tipp City Mum Festival and Xenia's Old Timers Days anchor a festival Saturday across the suburbs. On the opening front, The 8 sports bar is now pouring downtown, Currito is open in Centerville, Wat Da Pho Express is serving near UD, and Izzy's Famous Reuben just landed in Warren County.

The Air Force Marathon crowd is already in town, so Beavercreek, Fairborn, and the WPAFB corridor have been buzzing, and Oktoberfest at Wing's Bar & Grille follows on base Thursday. In this edition: the full Oktoberfest music lineup, a funk triple bill at The Rose, the Schuster's big Broadway weekend, every suburb's festival date from Tipp City to Xenia, and the new restaurants and grand openings I can confirm across the metro.

Here is everything fresh I have not covered before.

New Restaurants and Grand Openings

The 8 Is Open Downtown, Across From the Ballpark

The wait is over for the sports bar that was announced alongside Gulzar's expansion downtown. The 8 opened July 20 at 217 N. Patterson Blvd., directly across from Day Air Ballpark and next door to Gulzar's Indian Cuisine. Jay and Deepika Singh, the family behind Gulzar's, built it as an American-fare sports bar with a wall of TVs and a patio made for Dragons game nights. For anyone who likes dinner and a ballgame, it is now the easiest pregame in downtown Dayton.

Currito Opens Its First Dayton-Area Location in Centerville

Cincinnati's Currito is now open at 1024 Miamisburg-Centerville Road in the Oak Creek Marketplace plaza, the Whole Foods shopping center in Washington Township on the Centerville side of the mall corridor. The build-your-own bowl, burrito, and salad chain made its first Dayton-area debut here, and two more area locations are already in the works. It is an easy, fresh-table lunch or dinner stop for anyone house-hunting or running errands between Centerville, Washington Township, and Miamisburg.

Wat Da Pho Express Is Serving Near UD

The family-owned Vietnamese chain's third location is up and running at 1047 Brown Street near the University of Dayton: Wat Da Pho Express serves pho, banh mi, and boba tea daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is a quick, affordable table for students, faculty, and anyone who works or lives on the UD side of town.

Izzy's Famous Reuben Comes to the Dayton Area

Cincinnati's Izzy's Famous Reuben opened its first Greater Dayton location in July at 1330 Hamilton Lebanon Road (Ohio 63) in Monroe, just off I-75 near Springboro. The corned-beef institution built its reputation on reubens and deli classics served no-frills, and this northernmost outpost puts it within an easy drive of Springboro, Bellbrook, and Centerville. Worth the trip for lunch.

Lalo's Mexican Restaurant and Dave's Hot Chicken Updates

In West Dayton, Lalo's Mexican Restaurant is open at 100 N. James H. McGee Blvd., serving Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to about 10 p.m. and closed Sundays. And on the north side, Dave's Hot Chicken has confirmed a second Miami Valley location at 5561 Merily Way in Huber Heights, in the former Arby's, after its first area spot opened in Beavercreek last December. No opening date has been announced yet, and I will post the moment it lands.

Oktoberfest Weekend: September 25-27

Oktoberfest at the Dayton Art Institute

The region's signature fall festival runs September 25-27 at the Dayton Art Institute at 456 Belmonte Park North. Friday opens with a free Lederhosen Lunch from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with accordion music from Charlie Campbell, then the Preview Party runs 7-11 p.m. with Velvet Crush on the Main Stage and Schnickelfritz in the Food Tent. Saturday runs noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday noon to 7 p.m., with two music stages all day: KC & The Moonlighters, Dave'd and Confused, and Party Punch on the Main Stage, with Turbo Accordion Express, Schnickelfritz, and Tyler Fairburn in the Food Tent. Sunday brings the Steinholding Competition at 2 p.m. On top of the music: more than 50 craft and international beers, a Weingarten, artisans, family activities, and a covered TV tent for the weekend's games.

Flashback Funk Fest at The Rose: September 26

The Rose Music Center turns back the clock Saturday with the Flashback Funk Fest: Morris Day & The Time, The Ohio Players, The Original Lakeside, and ConFunkShun on one bill. Doors at 6 p.m. and the show at 7:30 at the hilltop pavilion. Fans of 70s and 80s funk should not miss this one.

West Side Story at the Schuster Center

The Dayton Performing Arts Alliance brings Bernstein's West Side Story to the Schuster Center Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m., uniting Dayton Opera, Dayton Ballet, and the Dayton Philharmonic, joined by Wright State. A full company staging of one of Broadway's greatest scores, right downtown.

Concours d'Elegance at Carillon Park: September 20

Before the festival weekend even starts, Carillon Historical Park hosts the Dayton Concours d'Elegance this Sunday, September 20: more than 150 classic and antique cars and motorcycles on the lawn along the Great Miami River. It is the place where Dayton's automotive history, the Wright brothers' workshop included, meets collectors from across the region.

The Suburb Sweep: Tipp City, Xenia, Beavercreek, Vandalia and Beyond

Tipp City Mum Festival: September 25-27

The 67th annual Tipp City Mum Festival fills Tipp City with mums, crafts, and food under the theme "Blossoms of Liberty: 250 Years of American Independence." Friday night kicks off with a Cruise-In at City Park from 4-9 p.m. Saturday opens with the Run for the Mums 5K around 7 a.m., the big parade at 10 a.m. rain or shine, then pageants, vendors, and the Memory Lane Car Show with more than 100 classic cars, vintage motorcycles, and tractors. Admission is free all weekend.

Old Timers Days in Xenia: September 25-27

Xenia keeps its heritage festival tradition alive with Old Timers Days, a weekend of music, food, and vendors on the downtown streets of Greene County's county seat. It is one of those laid-back community weekends that makes small-town Ohio feel like a postcard.

Free Movies in Beavercreek and Vandalia

Two free family movie nights land on the same weekend. Beavercreek's Friday Night Flicks screens Lilo & Stitch at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Russ Nature Reserve on Kemp Road, and Vandalia's Parks and Recreation runs a Family Movie Night at the Vandalia Art Park at 7:30 p.m. Saturday as part of its Kid-Venture Series. Bring a blanket and some chairs.

Highland Weekend at the Renaissance Festival

The Ohio Renaissance Festival in Waynesville turns Scottish this weekend with Highland Weekend on September 26-27: bagpipes, highland games, haggis, and full-contact jousting in a 16th-century village, about half an hour from most of the suburbs. Themed weekends continue through early November, including Viking Weekend October 3-4, Time Travelers October 10-11, Romance October 17-18, Myths & Monsters October 24-25, and a Heroes & Villains finale October 31-November 1 where kids 12 and under get in free. My complete festival guide has every weekend mapped out.

Apple Country, Close to Home

For apple season, the Country Applefest runs Saturday at the Warren County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, an easy drive from Springboro and Waynesville. And the farm season is about to flip into high gear: Young's Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs starts Pick Your Own Pumpkins on September 19 through October 25, and the Lucas Brothers Fall Festival in Bellbrook opens September 25 and runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through October 25, with its corn maze, pumpkins, and wagon rides. Both are in my complete fall guide.

Beyond This Week: A First Look at October

Heritage of Flight Festival: October 2-4

The Heritage of Flight Festival and Parade returns to the Main Street of New Carlisle October 2-4, a short drive from Fairborn and the base. The weekend honors the region's aviation history with a classic-car cruise-in Friday, a festival Saturday, and the big parade Sunday. It is a favorite for WPAFB families and anyone who loves the aviation heritage of the Miami Valley.

Springboro's Spooktacular and Front Street's Halloweekend

Halloween season officially begins in the first days of October. The Windmill Farm Market Spooktacular Fall Festival brings its second edition to Springboro October 2-4 with fall games, treats, and family fun among the pumpkins and mums. Down in Dayton, Halloweekend at Front Street kicks off the spooky season Friday, October 2 in the historic Front Street District.

The Rest of October, Suburb by Suburb

The month fills in fast: the Kettering Community Shred Day at the Kettering Business Park October 10, the Boo Bash Trail at Beavercreek's Dominick Lofino Park on October 17, the Trick or Treat & Fall Fest at The Greene on October 18 at noon, and Dinner After Dark in Centerville October 18. Full details on every one of these are in my mid-September guide, and last week's edition recapped the rundown for September 14-20.

Why I Track All of This

A weekend like this one tells you more about a region than any single statistic. Oktoberfest at the Art Institute, funk at The Rose, a full Broadway staging at the Schuster, and a festival in Tipp City, Xenia, Beavercreek, and Vandalia all in the same stretch of days: that is a metro that invests in itself and plays hard together.

The openings tell the same story. A sports bar across from the ballpark, a build-your-own bowl chain choosing the Centerville mall corridor, a family Vietnamese spot near UD, a Cincinnati deli betting on Warren County. Businesses make those decisions when they see families moving in and neighborhoods filling out.

For buyers, that context matters. For sellers, it means your home sits in a community with a full calendar and a growing list of reasons people choose it. And for anyone considering a move to the Dayton area, this is the clearest view of the region's momentum.

Whether you are buying, selling, or just curious about what your home might be worth, I am here with straight answers and a strategy that fits your situation.