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!

The fest is pretty large and spread out. Sure, it's free to get in. However, they get you on the…read moreparking costs. They have different tiers depending on how close you want to park. To get in and out of the parking lots can be a pain. The food vendors accept cash or card which is nice. Food lines are long! Be prepared to wait. They had multiple bar lines that were fast. Bar lines also sold water and NA options. Plenty of porta potties. If you plan on attending bring your own chair or blanket to sit on. They allow you to bring in your own food and drinks (just no outside alcohol). Something to keep in mind to keep your costs down. Spread out, but expect crowds. Overall a good event.

We attended this event last year, we had a table set up there for our company (Westway Coach), a…read moreschool bus company. Just wanted to add that we had an amazing time there, the ambient, the music, the food, all was great, we had an amazing time being part of this event.

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.

My first time attending while visiting and didn't know what to expect. It was about $25 to get in,…read morebut when I found out it was a concert/fair/festival rolled into one I didn't mind! Many good food vendors with hefty places at cheap prices. And the entertainment acts were great.

I attended a few years back and decided to go again this year. The $20 admission was off-putting…read morebut everyone seemed to be in a good mood. I wasn't crazy about the blatant campaigning by a local alderman, and it seemed as if there were way fewer food vendors than last time. We split the rice and jibarito with pork, and I was dying for arepas, and the did not disappoint! The coconut ice milk was very good, but very hard to eat of the half coconut they used as a bowl. The Moderno liquor with vodka or rum or tequila was good, and the 'lounge' for sampling was a nice touch. I was quite disappointed that the restaurant '90 Miles Cuban' was ONLY IN THE VIP SECTION!! I really liked their food and style of cooking, and they seemed to have shunned the 'common folk'. What was with the pony and camel rides for kids?? Yes they get bored, I'm ok with ponys but a camel seems cruel and excessive. The music was awesome, and I admired the way some artists did not translate their speeches.

This fest has really went down. it used to be sooooo much fun! It was moved to 16th street (from…read more18th street), and turned from an expression of culture and the Pilsen neighborhood to just another fest selling things. It was much smaller than previous years with less food choices and fewer authentic vendors and had bad music, at least during the daytime when I went. I usually stay to hear the musical lineups but this was so boring I stayed long enough for the kids to get tacos and look at the 3 shops that were there. They even had some band singing sweet dreams singing the wrong words! I hope the fest will go back the way it was then I'd return. If not I'd say skip it.

There are a ton of festivals that happen during the summer in the Chicagoland area and Pilsen Fest…read moreis one of them! I enjoyed listening to various types of performances from rock, DJing, to an amazing musical family band called Cielito Lindo. The band's age ranged from about 7 years old to the father's age, and they were amazing at harmonizing together. There is a lot of cultural aspects to this festival including Chinelos, a dance from one of the Mexican regions. It was so much fun to participate in! There are various businesses from Pilsen area that participate to sell food including Taqueria y Restaurant El Buen Valle, which had delicious tacos, and had tons of drink options like agua fresca and alcohol. It's only a few blocks long, so it's very contained and easy to get around. Would definitely come back next year.

This theater is on point. Totally remodeled. The seats are amazing. My husband gets so comfy he…read moresnoozes for a little while. This place is CLEAN. Thank you. They have a good crew working here. Polite, respectful and service oriented. The theater lay outs are great. As a senior pitched floors and steps are obstacles. But I have NO problem navigating any of theaters here. My husband and I have our date night every other Tuesday here. And Monday night mystery movies are pretty cool. Thank you for being such a gem in our community.

Enjoyed going to the movies at this great local theatre. Seats were very large, comfortable, and…read morehad heat controls. Super nice walkable area close to restaurants, cafes, breakfast places, and a brewery. Loved the details in the historic building. Washrooms could use some attention, but not a deal breaker.

Free party? I'm…read morethere. Okay, this isn't your traditional party. In fact, it's more like free, live, outdoor entertainment in coordination with many of the area's independent businesses, but it's a nice way to spend an evening while roaming through Elmhurst's bustling City Centre. Here's the deal: From Memorial Day to Labor Day, every Wednesday and Saturday evening from 6-9pm, downtown Elmhurst's City Centre hosts a variety of talented musician under tented pop-ups throughout the city. Most are in areas that overlook outdoor patios or have plenty of public seating to enjoy. The acts, as far as I witnessed, were pretty outstanding, although the temporary tents make for a very casual, almost easy to miss, setting. We kept walking through downtown Elmhurst and thinking we were just hearing some loud speakers from a nearby bar that was playing Kings of Leon, Darius Rucker, LIVE, Bob Dylan and other well-known artists on a jukebox or something, but it wasn't. It was the sounds from the four different tents set up through downtown Elmhurst carrying over. The whole thing was really cool and very unexpected as we'd just kept kind of wandering into these neat pop-up live shows on different corners. Each band, singer, duo, etc really shocked us with their level of talent and performances. For me, being hard of hearing, it was better than going to a concert because here I could actually hear every note and word clear s day. Some of the tents were busier than others, but I think that was due to some areas being better for seating and such, but in any case, mild crowds formed, families danced, young girls swooned, it turned our leisurely stroll around the town into a really romantic night. In addition to the musical acts, area businesses offer super drink food and drink specials and I believe, if you stop by the City Centre office during daytime hours, and ask nicely, they have little postcard type gift certificates for $5 good at almost all the downtown Elmhurst businesses and a great excuse to stop for a beer or wine. On Wednesday I believe there's also a classic car show, so it probably gets pretty crowded, but on our Saturday stroll, the conditions were perfect, it wasn't at crazy. Again, the set up is really casual and you could walk by and just catch a few musical moments, but it's worth it to grab a coffee or grub at a nearby biz and set up shop near one of the pitch-perfect tents for a relaxing and budget-friendly evening.