Attendees having just stepped off the river from an afternoon of canoeing and kayaking in 2022. (Submitted photo)
Laugh, connect at Donnell Land ‘26
- Published: May 22, 2026
The annual Donnell Land festivities, hosted by comedian and local resident Donnell Rawlings, will return to Yellow Springs over Memorial Day weekend with four days of comedy, outdoor recreation and community gatherings.
Now entering its sixth year, Donnell Land will run Friday–Monday, May 22–25, and feature stand-up comedy, the returning “Streets vs. Creeks” kickball game, family activities, outdoor recreation and wellness programming, as well as this year’s invited guests, including comedians and entertainers Angela Yee, Talib Kweli, Tiffany Haddish, Jivanta Roberts and local resident Dave Chappelle.
Speaking with the News this week, Rawlings said that, the event’s entertainment offerings aside, he views Donnell Land’s value as resting within its emotional impact.
“The objective was to create memories for a lifetime,” he said. “And I’m starting to feel that.”
He added that the yearly undertaking is “a lot to organize” and, in its way, stressful; last year, he considered taking a year off. However, a conversation with a friend who, with her mother, had attended Donnell Land three years in a row, took that consideration off the table for him.
“Her mom passed away a few months ago, and she said one of her mom’s fondest memories was coming to Donnell Land,” Rawlings said. “That kind of triggered me … and made me realize, ‘This is why you do it — for those memories.’”
And he credited his sister, Erlinda Franklin, with taking the lion’s share of event planning off his plate, so he can focus on being a good host.
“She’s doing an amazing job of making sure my life is easy, so I can just be like the mayor of Yellow Springs,” he said with a laugh. “You know, wave to people, give out candy, stuff like that.”
Rawlings said Donnell Land has expanded quite a bit since its first year, both in terms of the programming offered and the number of folks who attend — and the distance people travel to participate, as Donnell Land now consistently attracts visitors from outside Ohio. Nevertheless, Rawlings said he aims for the event to maintain its local identity.
“It’s continuing to grow, but this is the home [of Donnell Land], and I want to keep it here,” he said. “I don’t gauge [success] by how many people show up; I gauge the feeling they leave with.”
Donnell Land’s roots remain closely tied to the pandemic-era comedy gatherings spearheaded locally by Dave Chappelle, Rawlings said; while Chappelle focused on stand-up performances, Rawlings began organizing activities around them. Rawlings, originally from Washington, D.C., said planning the initial events drew him to make Yellow Springs his home and embrace the slower rhythms of village life: short drives, quiet evenings, time wandering in the outdoors.
“I realized that I had to understand how to appreciate the smallest things in life,” he said, adding with a laugh: “Where I grew up, our birds had one color: gray. Pigeons. Now I get excited knowing the difference between a cardinal and a blue jay. So if I can introduce people to the simplicity of nature, that’s a win.”
As in years of Donnell Land past, the emphasis on simplicity and connection continues to run through the four-day event, with a Friday, May 22, “Kids Night Out” party; a Saturday, May 23, nature hike and sound bath; the first annual “Austen Bowl,” named in honor of Rawlings’ son, on Sunday, May 24, featuring a family-friendly field day and flag football for kids; and kayaking down the Little Miami River on Monday, May 25.
Donnell Rawlings in 2022. (News archive photo by Cheryl Durgans)
Noting the ubiquitous reliance on technology for people of all ages, he said he feels it’s especially important for young people to have an outlet for fun and connection — particularly across different age groups — that takes place away from screens.
“I want kids to put their phones down,” he said. “I want them to do musical chairs, I want them to do a three-legged race — the old-school stuff.”
For those keeping score, the ongoing “Streets vs. Creeks” celebrity kickball rivalry, which returns Saturday, May 23, stands firmly in favor of the Creeks, who lead the Streets by two wins. Rawlings said comedian Angela Yee will captain the Streets this year, and he will return as captain of the Creeks.
Asked how he’s managed to maintain the Creeks’ advantage the past few years, Rawlings put the victories down to his teammate selection strategy.
“Me personally, when I recruit for my team, I look at your calves and your thighs,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not looking at how many followers you’ve got on Instagram. I’m like, ‘Are you built for this?’”
He added: “Maybe that’s cheating the system, but it’s been good so far.”
And no Donnell Land would be complete without some comedy from the weekend’s resident stand-up comedian; this year, Rawlings will perform at the Fairborn Phoenix on Saturday, May 23, with an after-party to follow. Laughter, he said, is what he hopes will “resonate through all of Donnell Land.”
“In this world, you better be able to laugh — laugh at pain, laugh at joy, laugh at everything,” he said. “I love my community, and I want people to know that we can come together as a community, laugh and have a good time.”
For the full 2026 Donnell Land schedule, go to http://www.donnellrawlings.com/donnell-land
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