After experiencing the difficulty of getting near the launch site of the fireworks shows, this year…read moreI decided to watch Itasca's firework show from a distance in Elk Grove Village. Though there was still quite a line off 53 and onto Biesterfield and Arlington Heights Roads, this is still much better than what I've experienced closer where the fireworks are launched. It's a good idea to allow a minimum of 30 min before and 30 min after for heavy congestion though even an hour after the show, the traffic was still quite heavy on the main roads. The show itself really dazzled with both a higher frequency of fireworks than many nearby spots as was a larger size fireworks. This spanned a large array of different firework types though I wish there was a little more variety in the colors available. Regardless, even from over a mile away, the show was amazing and well worth the drive nearby. It's still crowded in the surrounding towns and there were a substantial number of lines at local businesses like McDonalds who were serving food. Overall, great fireworks show to watch -- even if you're not experiencing it directly at Hamilton Lakes.

Great shot with lots of beautiful and very patriotic colors and styles of designs above our heads…read moregoing off, but was a little too short.

As a Californian this place was epic. Filled with a crazy selection of fireworks and the amount of…read morefireworks per dollar is insane. The woman at the counter was extremely friendly and helped with all the legal stuff. 10/10 awesome store!

Very kind lady at the front, got ourselves some fireworks. Huge selection. Talked us through the…read morepermitting. Knowledgeable. Great value for what you get.

Great selection on the floor for you to view and pick from. Use your app to scan the fireworks to…read moresee what they look like. All the staff was very helpful with everything. Best deals anywhere!

Large, great selection, clean, friendly staff. But the pricing is a head scratcher. Coupons all…read morehave a catch, have to be super careful with the coupons because they all have different limitations. It's become so expensive we have started looking elsewhere for certain items. Kinda has a used car lot feel to it. Walking out you aren't sure if you just scored a deal or if you were just taken lol.

Great place, great staff, huge selection…read more I really enjoy the TV's they have that give you the option to be able to see what your firework will do if you aren't sure

I'm going back for my 2 nd straight year!! They rock and fill!!! I'm curious to see how inflation…read morehas affected the price of fireworks!!

Elburn Days is not just a fest, it's an entire community stopping to celebrate and take some time…read morefrom the every day norm to let loose. You can take the train, drive straight in on 38, or shoot down 47. There's plenty of parking all around the city, and even if you walk around town, which there are some quaint shops and bars to eat... AND DON'T FORGET REAMS!, you aren;t far from the fest. Highly recommend a visit, you won' be disappointed.

I will not be patronizing this store anytime soon. The prices are outrageously high and customer…read moreservice is poor. No freebies whatsoever. I went to Bartolottas and got twice the amount for the same price. They were very helpful & friendly. She through in a bunch of free ones too. Excellent Quality fireworks at Bartolottas in Palmyra and Dousman!

Kept the flag at half staff after it should have been raised. Tried calling them to let them know,…read morebut it was after store hours, but who doesn't set up a professional voicemail?. Not happy with the disservice to the flag. Especially for a place called "American fire works"

We tried this place again and much better customer service this year. The man that helped us was…read morereally nice.

The sidewalks are filled with seasonal tourists and fairgoers. Shops are open, restaurants are…read morefilled, and on the main thoroughfare, games, fair food, and carnival rides for the whole family. There are also live bands, vendors, and a water ski show. Fireworks at dusk. The fair is on Wednesday through Sunday. This is an annual event and there's something for everyone. Parking is at a minimum due to the crowd, so public transportation, or carpooling is recommended.

If you come for Sunday festivities - to watch the water show - being your chairs and blankets early…read moreto get a good spot!! Show is at 6, people start saving seats as soon as noon!! More to come!

We've been having a heatwave and daily thunderstorms so it was questionable whether this event…read morewould take place. For 2026, they moved the start time an hour early to avoid rain. Before the fireworks, they had some kids games, a band, and maybe more. Maine East had their concession stand open too, serving pizza, cotton candy, drinks, hot dogs, etc. There was a good crowd, but the lightning detection system went off five minutes after the fireworks started and they asked folks to head out. That's ok, I'd rather be safe. The biggest issue was concerned was parking--specifically, preferred parking. I bought a pass since it was our first time attending and had no frame of reference for how difficult it would be to find a parking spot, how long it would take to get out, and so on. Here are my issues with the ($30-40) preferred parking: - Tailgating. I don't have a problem in theory--the execution is a problem. Tailgating needs to be parked separately from those who aren't, easily achieved by selling tailgating and non-tailgating passes. Or they could have an end time for tailgating. Because when we were leaving due to the Thorguard alarm going off per the organizer's request, some of us were trying to get to our cars through a bunch of tailgating that was blocking a dozen or more cars in. Our car was by another party leaving; the tailgates started one car away from us. Not one of those people moved at all. We had to back out of our spaces, carefully avoiding people. And it may have been the same even if everything had gone as planned this year since they may have wanted to continue tailgating past the end of the show. This is why I say they need to either have a space reserved for tailgaters--preferably further away from the exit, to make it easier for non-tailgaters to get out--or they need to make sure people pack up their gear by a certain time, and enforce it. - The volunteers disappear at some point. When we left I didn't see any volunteers in the parking lot. I'm not sure there were any near the entrance, because cars were still entering the preferred lot (so, they hadn't blocked it off to arriving traffic even though they were telling people to leave). This caused issues trying to exit. When I was backing out, some guy who I think was one of the tailgaters was kinda guiding me out, and there were cars entering the parking lot that were waiting for me as I was backing up. I think that entrance may have been the planned exit for the lot (according the the note enclosed with my parking pass detailing the original plan, you could only enter that lot until 8:45, so if it had started after 9 as planned that could have been used for an exit). As it was, that entrance was blocked since there were cars entering. Those of us trying to leave had literally nowhere to exit since cars were entering there and there were tailgaters down many of the rows, blocking us from driving down the parking rows. I had to get out of my car to move a barricade out of the way because there was nowhere else for those of us exiting to go. There was no one--not a police officer, park district employee, etc.--directing traffic, creating an exit, or making people pack up to leave. - Cars are parked in diagonally, rather than straight. I guess perhaps this is for the ease of the volunteers so they don't have to try and convince people to park straight (who would probably park poorly anyway) but as someone who helped park cars for football games for about 10 years from the time I was 11, it's the most efficient way to do it.

A nice, annual, and free Park Ridge tradition. And even better - walking distance for us, so no…read moredriving needed. But if you do need to drive, lots of neighborhood parking is available and nearby as long as you don't wait til the last minute.