Really nice event to celebrate Polish Heritage. The Main Street (renamed Pierogi Way) was lined…read morewith vendors of all types as well as the local businesses. Every example of Polish food staples as well as shirts, jewelry, pottery.... Two beer gardens, one with a really fun band with people dancing dressed as 'babushkas' (grandmothers or old ladies wearing babushka scarves). Another stage had a more concert-like feel with polka music. We (20 of our family members) ended with a substantial $20 plate of polish standards (sausages, kraut, noodles & cabbage, golubki, and pierogi) at the Elks club. This event had it all and the town pays tribute to its roots exceptionally well.

Awesome time! Great food great people had a wonderful time with friends. Admission is free. Beers…read moreare cold. Pierogis are awesome. Found parking on one of the side streets since we got there early. Ohio and New York. Music playing at multiple spots. The pierogi foam hats are for sale at the chamber of commerce for $10 bucks. Definitely a good time.

Neat little railroad festival located in downtown Homewood Illinois. This festival runs every year…read morefor a single day during May. It is sponsored and run by the Village of Homewood. The fest has numerous train layouts and a healthy assortment of vendors selling train memorabilia. It is also a good place to get train modeling advice and ideas. This is a great fest for train buffs but even more so for kids. Bring them all for a nice day in Homewood. Tours through a real locomotive engine and caboose are also available for the whole family. Best of all..the fest and tours are free.

Great Homewood Farmers Market located Downtown Homewood on Dixie Hwy. I come here for the fresh…read moreveggies and Fruit. The salas and chips are good. I sampled a few vegan dishes. This is a great Saturday family outing, it's something for everyone. I try to come here at least twice a month up until they leave in October.

Easily the best beer festival we've ever been to…read more My wife and I have now been to zoo brew several years in a row and it is easily our favorite beer festival. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this beer festival. We've always done VIP which means you get an extra hour, access to a few exclusives beers, buffet style meal provided, and a chance to meet amazing ambassador animals! They set up all of the beer vendors under one giant tent which we really love. Everything is in close proximity which makes it easy to be able to visit every single vendor. They always have a band for entertainment and the bands have always been amazing!! We always try to make a day of it by getting to the zoo early to enjoy the whole zoo and finishing with a beer festival. I highly recommend this event for everyone. It truly does offer something for everyone.

Animals + Craft Beer = Happy Sarah…read more I love animals ever so much, from tiny little fish to huge walruses and lions. The zoo is one of my absolute favorite places so I was beyond stoked for this event. Tickets were $50 but that included the usual parking fee + zoo admission fee. The band, Modern Day Romeos, was awesome. I didn't know what to expect but they were a fabulous cover band and seemed to bring some groupies with them. About 15 minutes into the event, it started raining quite hard and a hour & a half in, a torrential downpour started. Umbrellas were of no use and we were all soaked from head to toe. The beers & breweries were all listed on the event page so although the selection was not vast, I wouldn't criticize on that fact when it was all laid out prior. Lines got super long because of the crazy rain so I'm hoping it won't be quite that bad next year. I will absolutely go again next year. I was super sad to see how upset the lion was by the bass from the band though. He was so visibly agitated by the noise, he was pacing back and forth in the 2 foot glass area of his outdoor habitat. The lion's den was the closest to where the band was playing of all the animals...Poor big kitty! :( Pro Tips for next year: Go earlier~! Brookfield Zoo is huge and I need to make the most of my free admission. I went at 230 this year so only had an hour and a half before the event to look around. It was not nearly enough time! I wasn't sure what to expect with this event, but you're in a roped off type of party area. You don't have full zoo access near the beers. They need more seating! Or covered seating. There were some picnic tables that were not covered so were completely being rained on. Bring cash for the silent auction! They had some pretty cool items!

Attended the 2017 event yesterday and had a blast! I loved how this was just in downtown Oak Park…read moreso you got to walk around the downtown and also try great beers. I also loved the fact that even if you didn't have a ticket, you could walk around. One of my friends isn't a beer drinker, but she still got to hang out with us as we wandered. I also loved the variety of beers that were there. Obviously, tons of IPAs but there were also stouts, amber ales, double IPAs, sours, and more! Great variety. Also loved that a few ciders made an appearance. I love finding a good cider! The food options were intriguing and covered quite the range of drink cravings. Also loved the water coolers where I could fill up my water bottle. It's important to stay hydrated while day drinking! Was kind of confused about how the drinking wasn't supposed to start until 3? I arrived shortly after 2pm and was able to check in, get my glass, and start drinking. I'm not complaining because it meant I had more time to explore and pace myself, but it was kind of confusing. Overall this was a fun event! Easy to get to (right off the Harlem stop on the Green line)! And well run! Definitely hope I can make it next year!

Now in its 7th year, the Oak Park Micro Brew & Food Review was a pleasure to be involved in. I…read morevolunteered at the event, which benefits Seven Generations to promote healthy eating in schools, and sustainable communities. While I had a fun interactive volunteering job of pouring cider and beer to happy review-goers, others made sure this was as close to a Zero Waste festival as possible. 74 breweries were a part of the 2014 review, with some taking part in a Replicale challenge, which gave them very specific guidelines for a red or amber ale. The 4-hour festival allowed plenty of time to drink and get your money's worth, and it takes place on the streets of downtown Oak Park, so you can take the Green Line in and not drive! (If you don't already live in lovely Oak Park). I "Untappd" so many beers I lost track, especially since so many of the Replicales weren't even on the grid yet. My favorite Replicales were by Lake Effect and Dryhop Brewery. My favorite regular brews were by Lake Effect, the Blind Pig, and Virtue Ciders. The festival had plenty of bathrooms, water stations to fill up your water bottle or wash out your tasting glass, but as far as being a "food review", a little more could be done to provide more, and more affordable food options. (ie. the $7 "half bratwurst" was more like ballpark prices!) This is definitely a festival to consider if you love Craft Brews in the summertime!

It was more like a neighborhood block party with some carnival rides and games than it was a…read moreOktoberfest. Spent about an hour there since it was just me and my husband and had done everything. The beer wasn't too expensive and they did have some good music. Not really the Oktoberfest German experience you would really want.

The Berwyn Oktoberfest is a blast! Sure, it's not a real Oktoberfest, it is more of a HUGE block…read moreparty like the other reviewer said, but what makes it great is that there are so many local restaurants and vendors. This is a true community festival that has retained its character. The music acts are also great and they have ample seating and security for the event. There is a lot of excitement surrounding the event, especially from the Mayor and his presence. They had a great 80s band last year that really got the crowd going! Look forward to this festival every year as a 30 something year old.

I'm surprised there's no listing yet, so I made one…read more I went to OP Brewfest 2023 and had a good time. They had 22 beer and cider vendors to choose from with a good variety of beers. They also had a booth with wine and spirits for people who like those. Food was catered by Beggars Pizza and was tasty. Pizza, beef sandwiches, sausage, pasta, pretzels, salad, etc. Bags and other games were set up around for people to play with and everyone got a complementary beer glass. It's held inside the public works main building, so the acoustics aren't excellent for the live music but overall it's a good event that didn't run too long and was a decent value.

This is a great neighborhood fest. Plenty of vendors selling everything from lanterns to hot sauce…read more The star of the fest are the hot dogs. All of the dog were good. I just wish they would add more hot dogs vendors. There are a lot of non hot dog food vendors, they should have at least one hot dog offering. The musical acts were amazing especially Kashmir, a Led Zeppelin tribute band. It's a good time.

It's a nice event with lots of vendors, perfect for a nice day out. Suggested donation of $10, but…read morenot required. While it's something fun to do, $35 for two hot dogs is just too much.

Look, I'm not Italian, I've been to Italy. Does that count? This fest definitely feels Italian…read more There's a lot of musicians singing Italian songs all over the place and the ton of food options is predominantly Italian. We had the bacon jam coal fire pizza, really thin crust with fresh buffalo mozzarella - excellent ! Most boths are run by mom and pop, so they don't flip the tablet to guilt you the mandatory 15% tip for handing you your food. Alleluia!!! The suggested entry fee is only $7! They have actual merchandise to sell here not just arts and crafts. They also have carnival games for kids.

This was a nice, pretty big fest. Great food choices, great atmosphere, singing artists, and a nice…read morechoice of small shops. Parking not far, it was $10, but considering the area it was not a price. Highly recommend this fest.