Doughty Valley Benefit returns to Millersburg with volleyball, pulls, music

Local families in need will once again be the reason people head to 5017 State Route 557 in Millersburg when the 8th Annual Doughty Valley Benefit Event returns June 26 and 27, 2026. Organizers say the weekend uses their hobby and talents to support neighbors who need help, turning a familiar Holmes County field into a fundraiser as well as a summer gathering place.

Friday night is built around what the listing calls the area’s largest volleyball tournament, with more than 50 teams expected. Alongside the matches, attendees will find a cornhole tournament, a mini pony pull, food vendors and live music. Organizers are also urging people to bring a lawn chair, a sign that the evening is meant to stretch into a long, stay-awhile local outing rather than a quick stop.

Saturday shifts the focus to the pulling side of the event. Mid Ohio Mod Rods and Garden Tractor Pulls are scheduled for the morning, followed by antique and farm stock tractor pulls in the afternoon and evening, run on two different sleds. Food vendors and live music continue through the weekend, keeping the event part fairground, part competition and part community reunion.

The Doughty Valley name carries longer roots in Holmes County. Earlier versions of the gathering were known as Doughty Valley Steam Days, and past schedules show a heritage-driven event built around machinery and rural tradition. A 2021 lineup included an antique consignment auction, a mini pony and draft horse pull, bluegrass music, an old-fashioned tractor pull, a gospel band, a sundown spark show, steam engine games and a garden tractor parade. A 2024 Holmes County Chamber listing described the show as an old-time steam event with a working sawmill, threshing, antique tractors, toy models, small engines, a flea market, oil field engines, horse pull and tractor pull.

That history helps explain why the benefit event has become a recognizable summer fixture in Millersburg and across Holmes County. Its listing on the Amish Country events calendar puts it in front of visitors as well as locals, but the draw remains deeply local: a weekend of volleyball, pulls and music tied to a practical purpose, with the proceeds aimed at families in need.