Events in Downtown Tiffin

DOWNTOWN HOLIDAY WINDOW CONTEST

Saturday, November 28, 2020- Saturday, December 12, 2020

Voters can stroll through downtown, pickup ballots at participating businesses, and turn their votes in at the red ballot box at the courthouse. The winner will be announced on Sunday Dec 13 at the Holiday Movie at the Ritz Theatre.  Join Tiffin Community Foundation and “Be A Light” in our community. Everyone in Seneca County is encouraged to shine lights during the holiday season. For those who do not have Christmas lights or can’t afford additional electric costs, the Foundation has purchased more than 1,000 battery-operated window candles for anyone who wants to “Be A Light.” You can pick up your candle at the Tiffin Community Foundation.  You can use them in your storefront in conjunction with the Holiday Window Decorating Contest that will piggyback off of the Tiffin Foundation and be themed “Be a Light” in downtown. Think, bright lights and lots of color. It will start small business Saturday and end Dec 12! That gives the community 2 weeks to cast their votes. We will use the same red ballot box at the Justice Center like last year. The winner will be announced at the Ritz Theatre on December 13 during the Free Holiday Movie. 

FREE HOLIDAY MOVIE: HOME ALONE

Sunday, December 13, 2020 – 1:00pm & 7:00pm at the Ritz Theatre, 30 S. Washington St.

Seating is limited to 150 per show. Free registration for the show can be found here!

JIM BRICKMAN’S COMFORT & JOY AT HOME

Sunday, December 13, 2020 – 8:00pm

Enjoy Jim Brickman’s Comfort & Joy at Home, a private, virtual concert event that will help support the Ritz Theatre!  You’ll get a stocking full of Christmas gifts delivered right to your doorstep to complete your LIVE experience!

Events in Tiffin & Seneca County

MEN’S WEEKEND at Jeffrey Jewelry

Thursday, December 10, 2020 – Sunday, December 13 2020 at Jeffrey Jewelry, 2449 West Market St.

Team Jeffrey Jewelry will take all the pressure off as they’ll show you items on your special someone’s Wish List and beautifully wrap it to go under the tree.

Candy Cane Hunt on Horseback

Saturday, December 12, 2020 – 12:30pm

Candy Cane Ride is for ages 2 and up. Reservation required, message on Facebook or call today to reserve a slot. $10 per ride.

NOAH Community Christmas Day Dinner

Friday, December 25, 2020 – 11:00am to 1:30pm at Camden Falls, 2460 S. SR 231

Take out dinners only. Community dinner is free. Please call for reservations, 419-455-4569. 

Thriller Night of Lights! – SCOC’s Jack-O’-Lantern Drive-Thru
Friday, October 23 at 7 p.m. at the Seneca County Opportunity Center, 780 E. CR 20, Tiffin

Take a non-spooky night drive filled with spectacular Jack-O’-Lanterns decorated by the Seneca County Community! If you or your agency want to create Jack -O’-Lanterns to display contact Joan at 419-447-7521 ext. 1134 or jfreritz@senecadd.org.

Tiffin Trick-or-Treat
Sunday, October 25 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. 

Hoot in the Parking Lot at the Opportunity Center
Thursday, October 29 at 5 p.m.

Drive Thru in the comfort of your car & see us wave to you in our spooktacular non-scary costumes!  End the trail with a treat bag for a safe way to celebrate the Halloween season!  Welcome to all kids 10 and under.  Rain or Shine, updates found on SCOC’s Facebook page.

Fostoria Trunk-or-Treat
Saturday, October 31 at 1-3 p.m. 

This Spook-Tacular event will feature community businesses and representatives in the community who want to have some holiday fun and pass out goodies to our youth! While participating, please remember to promote healthy habits by practicing social distancing, frequently sanitizing your hands, and wearing a mask. But don’t worry.. we’ll “guide” you through it!

Fostoria Trick-or-Treat
Saturday, October 31 at 5:30 p.m. 

Full Moon Hike
Saturday, October 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Clinton Nature Preserve, 400 E. TR 132, Tiffin

This walk qualifies for the Walking Stick Program. All ages. Registration required at least 24 hours in advance of the program.

The Haunted Tiffin Ghost Walk is an after-dark historical tour/paranormal investigation that spotlights seven of Tiffin and Seneca County, Ohio’s most legendary — and sometimes slightly sordid — landmarks. Join award-winning author/historian/ paranormal investigator Lisa Swickard, psychic medium Lindsey Lawson and a host of other experts as they guide you in this truly unique, entertaining experience as the team explores the phenomena that lies beyond our physical world. 

Swickard says they start up the ghost tours every weekend in June, and typically last until Halloween. Tours are every Friday and Saturday evening, typically starting at 8:30 p.m. but moving earlier as the sun sets. 

About ten to fifteen people typically go on a walk at a time. Their team also includes two psychics, who also come along on the tours to speak with the dead.

Tools they use during the hunts include dowsing rods, flashlights, infrared cameras, recorders to capture electronic voice phenomenon, and radio transmitters to capture spirit voices. With their team, they are able to communicate differently with spirits and validate each other.

All tours are “100 percent local history,” Swickard said, and the spirits they attempt to communicate with are all previous residents of Tiffin. 

For Swickard, the best part about doing the ghost tours is sneaking in the history lessons about the area. 

“We’re teaching the history you didn’t learn in school,” she said. “You show them as human beings.”

The Fort Seneca walk is currently the most popular—it is both handicap accessible and drivable. Swickard also said their “Bettsville, Ohio: Little Town, Big History” tour has shown some significant evidence—including ending at the local mausoleum. 

Swickard said whether visitors believe or not, whether they get evidence or not, they take away a very interesting history lesson.

“Death is not the end,” she said. “There’s something else out there. People deserve to be remembered.”

For more information about the Haunted Tiffin Ghost Walks, visit hauntedtiffin.com. All tours are ages 13 and up. Walks are $15 per person. Since the tours are outdoors, it is possible to social distance. Masks are not required.

Tours include:

Camp Noble, where the 49^th Ohio was created during the Civil War

In this tour, you can hear the incredible story surrounding this historic Tiffin venue and the role its soldiers played in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. In addition, this walk introduces visitors to the neighborhood that once was home to some of Tiffin’s most unique movers and shakers.

Bettsville, Ohio: Little Town, Big History

Join us for a walk through the downtown district, visit the house once occupied by a kindly physician who, as a young medical student, was convicted of grave robbing. Stroll through the village’s first cemetery and cap off the evening inside the historic mausoleum.

Little Hedges Park, Court Street, & Julia Rumsey

The site of the first city cemetery in 1834, Little Hedges Park housed the graves of scores of Tiffinites who fell victim to the 1834 cholera epidemic. Court Street was one of the most eclectic streets in Tiffin. Situated opposite Courthouse square, the area was abuzz with the famous and infamous in Tiffin’s rich history. Tiffin’s first female physician, Julia Rumsey was a doctor when very few women were admitted to the profession. She had a thriving career here, until a shipwreck in 1865 claimed her life.

Fort Ball, Ketchup Bottle Murder, & Brothels

Enter the confines of Camp Ball, the fort built as a supply depot during the War of 1812. Surveyed by Gen. William Henry Harrison, the location was chosen for its close proximity to the Sandusky River and the natural spring that offered a constant supply of fresh water. Visit the site of the former home of Tiffin Millionaire Col. Albert Brewer. In May 1902 the industrialist’s life changed forever when he killed a man in a bar fight. The Hotel Monroe was situated across from the railroad depot, it soon gained a reputation as a popular house of ill-fame in Tiffin’s red light district. Mattie Ross Nisonger was the most famous madam in Tiffin’s history. Her Hotel Berlin was considered a classy “palace of pleasure.”

Haunted 1913 Flood Walk

Relive the most harrowing events of the Great Flood of 1913, which still stands as Tiffin’s —and Ohio’s — greatest natural disaster. Based on Swickard’s award-winning book, Calamity and Courage: Tiffin’s Battle During Ohio’s Deadly 1913 Flood, this ghost walk is sure to be a thrilling tale of those who perished and survived. Across the paranormal realm, this area has proven to be dotted with visits from those who succumbed to those raging waters more than a century ago.

1913 Flood: Klingshirn Property Investigation

The 1913 Flood was tragic for many businesses and individuals in Tiffin, but no familes were more devastated than the ill-fated Klingshirn and Knecht clans. This fascinating investigation takes visitors to the actual site where the houses stood, and Swickard recalls the last moments of those poor souls. 

“Pair of Shoes & a Beer” Tour

Visit the Tiffin Shoe Factory, also known as the Van Nette Flats, located at the corner of Liberty Street and Riverside Drive. Built in 1871, the factory was known for the manufacture of women’s high-button shoes. Eventually, it became the Van Nette Apartments and was home to inventor Jasper Van Nette. After, visit the old railroad bridge, the only surviving bridge after the 1913 Flood. The Mueller Brewery, now Tiffin Scenic Studios, and the Kuebler Home round out this historic tour.