GOSHEN, Ohio — Hundreds of Goshen families left the middle school Sunday with new backpacks, school supplies and even free haircuts as local businesses, churches and community groups joined the school district for its annual Ready Fest ahead of the new school year.
Goshen Local Schools hosted the event, which paired supply giveaways with services such as haircuts for kids preparing to head back to class. “Community partnerships are what makes our Goshen community special, and today’s ReadyFest 2026 is a perfect example,” the district said in a Facebook post, thanking the “local business, organizations and churches” that took part.
Registration for the 2026 festival opened July 12 and ran through July 26, open to all K-12 students who attend Goshen schools or are homeschooled within the district, according to the district. Every child who signed up received a free backpack filled with grade-appropriate supplies, along with other services offered at no cost.
Ready Fest has become a fixture on the district’s late-summer calendar, pairing the school system with local partners to help ease the cost of preparing children for the classroom. Goshen Local Schools serves roughly 2,700 students across four buildings in northern Clermont County and a portion of Warren County, according to state enrollment records. The district’s teams, known as the Warriors, compete in scarlet and gray as members of the Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference’s American Division.
The district said hundreds of Warrior families left the festival set for the coming school year, and thanked the volunteers, businesses and congregations who staffed tables and donated supplies to make the event possible.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Goshen Local Schools.