D-Day Reenactment in Conneaut, Ohio

Do you have a history buff in your family too? One of my kids is REALLY into studying wars right now so when we heard about the annual D-Day reenactment in Conneaut, Ohio, we wanted to learn more.

My son has done reports on a lot of battles in the Civil War and the two world wars. We’ve watched movies, read books… you get the idea. We thought a reenactment would help bring history to life in a way that he would really enjoy, and us too!

We happened to have time this year to go and so we made it happen. Below is an overview of the events and our D-Day Conneaut experience.

Basics about D-Day Conneaut

• The reenactment is at Conneaut Township Park in Conneaut, Ohio every mid-August (check their website for the exact dates).
• The rest of the year, the location is a park and beach, so yes there are benches and a boardwalk in the middle of the Normandy Invasion. Use your imagination 🙂
• It’s a 3-day event, but they do the same things each day so it’s fine if you can only go one day.
• There are 1,400+ reenactors, volunteering from across the country. Their clothes, gear, tanks, boats, etc. are all personal property or loaned for the event.
• They close some of the park bathrooms but there are plenty of port-a-potties.
• Admission tickets are free, but limited so you still need to register for them.
• (I think) This is a primarily a volunteer run event, but donations are welcome!
• If you are a veteran or traveling with a veteran, they do have veteran-specific tents, events and information.
• There were a few golf cart transports going around, but I think those were mostly for veterans or the handicapped.
• They have landing craft and amphibious boats at the nearby marina, tanks near the beach, an Allies camp, an Axis camp, and the viewing area for the Normandy Invasion re-creation.
• There are a variety of food options on-site.

The D-Day Conneaut website has significantly more information. Learn more at https://www.ddayohio.us/

Know before you go

Below are a few thoughts that I found helpful to know when planning our trip:

• Conneaut, Ohio is a small town. There aren’t a lot of hotels (or any?), but some residents will rent out their homes through vacation rental sites.
• There aren’t a lot of places to eat out in Conneaut. If you don’t stay nearby, bring food or plan to buy food at a food truck or stand at the event. There are a few local places to eat, but they’ll all be packed, so prepare to wait.
• The park itself is mostly closed off to cars. Some surrounding houses, churches and businesses will let you pay to park on their properties, or you can park on the residential streets. Pay attention to street signs so you don’t get towed.
• You’ll be doing a lot of walking around (up and down hills) and waiting, including in the sun.
• Conneaut residents are VERY familiar with the event, and many of them volunteer to help it run smoothly. If you don’t know something, ask someone!
• There are some things that require advanced planning like getting a ticket to ride on a Higgins Boat, and there were also duck boat tours. Registering at the veterans tent is also probably something to do in advance.
• It’s not a perfect re-enactment. For example, there are park benches in the sand, and many veterans are the re-enactors, but it’s not a big budget show. It’s still really cool to see.
• There are significantly more Allies than Axis reenactors so just use your imagination and it’s fine.
• Many of the reenactors camp out in the park for a few days, so respect their tents and property.
• The event has a lot of vendors who sell WWII memorabilia. Helmets, uniforms, books, posters, shirts, dog tags, and more. I suggest bringing cash!
• It’s 100% funded by donations, so please consider donating to them, if you’re able.

Things to bring

If you’re only there for one day, prepare by thinking of what you’d bring to spend all day at the park. You’ll be far away from your car and outside in the elements for hours. My top-of-mind items were:

• Good walking shoes
• Shade blockers (hats, sunscreen, umbrellas, chairs with a shade)
• Camping chairs or blankets
• Hand sanitizer
• Water
• Food, snacks
• Cash! Makes life so much easier
• Ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones (for the battle)
• Something to keep your little kids entertained, if needed

We used our stroller for our littlest child, but it had big wheels so was able to get up and down the grass hills easily. If anything, the stroller was good to have to help lug our stuff around.

We had umbrellas and a shade up for the hours we sat in our viewing spot, but took them down for the reenactment.

Our D-Day Reenactment Experience

Our D-Day experience was really smooth, thanks to the insight given to us by our Conneaut friends. It was a long day, but a good one! Here’s how our day went:

• We went on a Thursday so it was not as crowded. I’ve heard the weekend days are significantly more packed.
• We got there early, which helped us get a close, free parking spot on a nearby residential street.
• The tanks were all lined up together next to the beach. We went up to the vehicles, talked to the reenactors, and took pictures.
• We walked over to the nearby marina and got to ride on an actual Higgins boat (recommended to sign up for tickets in advance)
• We set up our chairs and blanket to claim our viewing spot to watch the battle. People were respectful of others’ property.
• We left our setup to walk around, look at the camps, shop, get food.
• The Normandy Invasion recreation occurs at 3:00 p.m. A mom sitting near us gave us some ear plugs. It wasn’t TOO loud, but my littlest and I were very thankful for the ear plugs. We could still hear the announcer fine with them in.
• During the battle, they have an announcer to tell everyone what’s happening and the timeline of events.
• We used the nearby playground a few times to let the kids get their energy out.
• While I detest port-a-potties, they were well stocked with toiletpaper and hand sanitizer. It was as good as could be expected.

Getting there early was key.
There weren’t as many people, which helped us get a good parking spot, ride the Higgins boat (we didn’t sign up in advance) and get a front row viewing spot. You can only go down to the vehicles on the beach in the morning too, before they start setting up for the battle.

One fact that really stood out to me was that the reenactment was all volunteers using items donated for this event. These people love sharing history so much that they come together to reenact or watch it recreated. Some of the people we talked to actually drove a similar vehicle during their time in the military, so it was fascinating to hear their stories.

Walking around the Allies camp was a little surreal. The men and women were dressed in clothes of that time period, using items from that time period. It almost felt like I was going back in time (minus the obvious that we were in the 2020s).

Overall, it was a very welcoming event, and I highly recommend going to anyone who is interested. The people of Conneaut were lovely and so helpful, as were the volunteers throughout the event. It was very kid friendly and family friendly, and I learned so much about WWII and D-Day.

The D-Day Conneaut website has significantly more information. Learn more at https://www.ddayohio.us/

Thanks for reading!