CrowFest Returns for Fifth Year, Turning Mansfield's Autumn Crow Roost Into a Month of Art

Every fall, thousands of crows descend on the eight-acre forest surrounding the Mansfield Art Center, filling the trees at dusk in a spectacle locals know well. For the fifth year running, the Art Center is turning that natural phenomenon into CrowFest — a month-long celebration of crow-inspired art, glassblowing workshops, and community programming that runs Sept. 19 through Oct. 18.

The crows have been part of the Art Center's landscape since the center was built in 1971, roosting communally each autumn to sleep, lower predation risk, and take advantage of warmer urban microclimates. During the 1980s, Mansfield hosted more than 30,000 crows in nightly roosts. In 1997, a local nature center director said crows had been wintering in the city for at least 23 years, describing Mansfield as large enough to offer safety but small enough to keep feeding areas within quick reach.

The festival grew out of that backdrop almost by accident. Jennifer Beavis, the Art Center's marketing and development director, said the idea started four years ago on a loud afternoon. "We stepped outside and they were being particularly loud," Beavis said. "We're a small team here, and we said, 'You know what? We have a two week window in between our next show. What if we just threw a pop-up dedicated to these crows?'... And the response was amazing."

What began as a two-week pop-up has grown into the Art Center's anchor fall event. By its fourth year in 2025, demand from artists submitting crow-themed work had picked up enough to signal real momentum. This year's festival will feature hundreds of original crow-themed artworks across every medium, a handblown glass pumpkin patch, artist-led workshops, and glass hot shop demonstrations. A guest juror will present awards including Best In Crow and honors by medium.

"Crows have so many meanings from mythology and history," Beavis said, adding, "It's really fun being in the middle of the crow migration in Ohio."

CrowFest opens with a reception Sept. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m., followed by an artists' welcome and awards recognition at 6 p.m. Food vendors and craft beer from Phoenix Brewing will be on hand. The Art Center's galleries are currently closed for installation of the exhibition, though education-wing classes and programs continue.

Admission is $5 for nonmembers, free for members and anyone younger than 17 — a price point that keeps the festival within reach for working families.

Glass artist and instructor Neal Richmond is leading pumpkin-blowing workshops throughout September, with full-size pumpkin sessions Sept. 4–5 and mini-pumpkin sessions Sept. 11–12, Sept. 18–19, and Sept. 25–26. Sessions run from 1 to 7 p.m. and are open to participants ages 10 and older; those younger than 16 need parental approval and supervision. Participants can create glass pumpkins in up to two colors with Richmond's guidance. Full-size pumpkin workshops cost $75; mini-pumpkin sessions cost $70.

Beyond CrowFest, the Art Center at 700 Marion Ave. offers year-round instruction in glassblowing, stained glass, ceramics, drawing, painting, silk painting, jewelry making, printmaking, fiber arts, rug tufting, 3D printing, and design technology. Programming includes free field trips for local students and outreach partnerships with schools and nonprofits. The center draws about 60,000 visitors annually.

Five years in, CrowFest has turned a quirk of geography — a small Ohio city that happens to sit along a crow migration route — into a homegrown tradition that fills the Art Center's galleries, workshops, and grounds each fall. Whether the birds keep coming back is up to them. Whether the community does is no longer much of a question.