I always make it to Do Division fest. I feel like it's the kick off to summer. Came on a Saturday…read moreafternoon. Got to get a XRT free T-shirt & talk with Marty Lennartz & Chalupa his cute dog. Lots of shopping here. T-shirt, jewelry etc. Great food booths. My favorite Lau Peng You is here with music pumping. Good wood fired pizza this year. Beat kitchen is a regular too. It's always crowded & tight to walk around since businesses are open with patios & clothes racks outside. 2 stages at either end with great live music. Can't go wrong!

Came here at evening with cousin…read more First of all, the address on Google Maps (and Uber) is incorrect. There was nothing happened at this location. Waste of Uber ride. The correct address is: 2000 W Division St Second, this Grand Joke of a street fest is too crowded. Too many people and easy to step on someone's toes, both figuratively and literally. Third, probably the Last Insult or straw that broke the camel's back as it were, but a lot of mean and callous people here. Also it's extremely hard to socialize with any group at length, so it's hard to join a convo that's going on. To give a more concrete example, I went into a shop with an intent to purchase some goods, in strolled in a couple and essentially avoided eye contact with me completely, and made me feel small and insignificant, and pretty bad about myself and self image as it were. Essentially, they treated me badly. That is just one example but you get the gist. I try to review any place honestly, and this is my honest take on it. The vibes of the "festival" didn't agree with me at all. In short, this "Street Fest" was the opposite of fun and was a total disaster. I did not enjoy it one bit, and will likely not be coming back. Nice try, "Street Fest" of Chicago. Should be called "Mean Ridicule Fest". Ridiculous, like a dude in a clown outfit giving you life advice. Total swing and miss!

Our daughter suggested we went to the Renegade Craft Fair Chicago 2025 as we were in the area.  She…read morehad been to the fair many times in previous years when she lived in the city and enjoyed it, and it was my husband's and my first time there.  The fair was held along Division Street between Damen Ave and Ashland Ave in Wicker Park, about half a mile one way. There were over 400 artists offering all types of arts and crafts.  There was something for everyone to appreciate.  It took us a little under 2 hours to walk around the entire fair.  Our focus was on ceramic art and all sorts of cute looking things.  I could not resist but purchased a very cute crochet baby chick on a stick, like a flower on a branch.  I guess I would need a tall vase to display it, haha. For any outdoor fair, weather is a main element to contribute to its success.  We were fortunate that it was a cool summer day, and it was a delight to leisurely browse the booths, even when walking from east to west facing the sun.  Of course, my sun hat helped a lot. There were many outdoor restaurants and eateries along the fair.  It was good people-watching while enjoying a snack and drink at those outdoor seats. Of course, passersby would look at people eating as well. It was amazing that there were so many dogs going out with their humans in the fair, and as always, my daughter and I loved watching them as well! We had a great time, and I would love to return to the Renegade Craft Fair Chicago in the future.

Well, I have been coming to various iterations of this fair for quite a while now and gotta say,…read moreclassic September Division St. is where it's at these days. The winter one has gotten too crowded in a place that once seemed sufficiently spacious, and I never liked the spring popup. That said, be sure to arrive right at opening (11 am) to beat the crowds as best you can, and do research on vendors ahead to see what you might want to seek out (we couldn't figure out their booth numbering system at all, though). Vendors from all over the country, not just IL, come to this thing! We were super stoked to see out favorite print maker, Alternate Histories, from Pittsburgh, since he was initially waitlisted; his art has WPA-style posters and other vintage graphics with Godzilla and other kaiju, among other things. I also added to my "meta election button collection" with a pin from World Famous Original from LA, and bought a small print from Family Tree Designs. Most of the vendors are along Division, but don't miss a few little side streets with food trucks, organizations, a van from True North (antique collective in Morris, IL) and such. I always pay attention to the trends at this fair, and 2019's seemed to be: - tiny plants, particularly in macrame pots - macrame in general (at one point I thought I thought we had jumped in a time machine to my childhood living room) - Ruth Bader Ginsberg - Brass jewelry - cbd oil in all sorts of stuff - flavored sugars + salts - as my friend observed, "Anyone thinks that they can make greeting cards" (some with more success than others...) - ethically made things (bravo to this, by the way) Music was provided by Reckless Records (who were also selling albums), and freebies/samples from Harken wine, Kind bars and Haribo gummis (the guy with the giant duffle of gummy bear packets just shoving them into everyone's hands as he walked down the street was hilarious). I still miss Magnolia photobooth; if they were there I could not find them. :( Bonus points for vendors that provided affordable water! $2 for a bottle from Dinky Delights donuts is totally doable. Props also to this fair for staying free admission for so many years; makes for a fun and affordable day out! There weren't too many things I couldn't live without, but i got the business cards of a lot of the artists I liked and added them here for your enjoyment. Overall, a nice day outside in the city; see you next year!

On a hot and steamy day, the hustle and bustle of the fair had a variety of excellent neighboring…read morefood vendors and shops ie jewelry and clothes. The smell of the various restaurants co-mingled into a pleasant melange of delicious scents prompting customers to take their time eating, drinking, and being merry on a lazy day. It was super crowded. Ice cold beer was a favorite of the attendees. The staff was friendly.

10/10/2024 My first…read moretime and they charged me $217 to showcase my artwork and I only had table . The first price was $300 and the communication could have being better and my first time in addition, I will NOT BE doing it again. I made half of my money back and my art piece's were priced low. The overall setup of the festival was nice and music

I'm not totally surprised that I haven't written a review for the art fair; the last (and only…read moreother) time I came was circa 2012, probably, and I was on a bit of a Yelp hiatus at the time. My friend and I loaded up our kiddos and headed out to the fair, because every year since the first one I attended I mean to come back yet I don't. The fair takes place near 57th & Kimbark in Hyde Park, and has been there for decades. It's one of the oldest juried fairs in the country, I think, and best of all: It's free. Not even a suggested donation for this fair. That's unusual and especially so for the calibre of artwork you'll find here! This year at the fair I bought a painting of some midcentury looking birds that just makes me smile. There was some photography of the city that was truly breathtaking. Some paintings that caught my eye--but in the middle of searching for a house, I both don't need more to move and don't know what the wall situation will be like. You'll find all mediums here, folk art (the Lakeshore Quilting Guild had a booth), handmade toys, and so on. You'll find some of these artists at other art fairs around the city as well. I don't know if there's a lot of food here, but that's not what I'm coming for and that's not what it's about. There are some restaurants along 57th that you can stop by, or they set up a food court in the elementary school area. Parking is by luck, really. I don't know how but I got a spot feet from where the street closure started, but the surrounding streets have parking (and I think the university surface lots are free at some point on the weekend, so that may be an option too). It's truly worth a visit, even if you're not there to buy but just want to appreciate art and human creativity.

There's no cover, It's huge, it's free, it's raining. What makes this different is the local south…read moreside artisans you don't get to see in the North side. My only caveat is parking but that applies to most Art Fair in the city. It's not just paintings lots of purses, sculptures,clothes , etc, to purchase. In addition it's right there by the University of Chicago. A more gorgeous campus you'll be hard pressed to find in the Midwest. Definitely check the campus out. I don't understand why others would rate this Art Fair less than 5 stars? Did I mention No Cover ?

Scams galore. People at front of the event will ask you for money but you legally don't need to pay…read moresince it's on a public street. Venue was extremely packed (literally elbow to elbow with people so no room to eat, walk, or anything). Ended up being scammed at one of the food stands. Was charged $55 for two flautas when the vendor said $15. I came back to give my food back and he said "no you already took a bite" so I called him a scammer and he started cussing at me. Will be charging this transaction back, especially since they are a fake business with no real address or working phone number.

Pray to God the weather holds up because this is worth going. Entrance is $10 for the whole family…read more- that's a bargain. There's supposed to be high‐flying masked wrestlers (Mexican lucha libre) at 1 pm this Saturday May 25 - don't miss that. I went May 24. This place was alive - the music, the people it was hoping like summer is finally here. Yes, they have lots of Mole sauce to pour on whatever dish you buy. Some have free tasting. It's actually very good. The $9 20 ounce Sangria's don't hurt either. This experience is a twofer. First, you get the fest to eat, drink, and be entertained just like any fest. Second, the whole thing is a cultural experience from the food to the shopping it's not your usual fare. So go now. Summer won't last long in Chicago.

I will begin here. I love an amazing art festival, I didn't have the chance to attend this one in…read moreyears passed. But this was the year. One of my favorite photographers/artists was going to be here, so I had to attend. I picked a few prints of his work. There was several blocks of amazing artists, jewelry, hand made projects and more. Along with many several food and drink vendors for all tastes. I never been to Fulton Market, but I am glad to have been here today and explore of my city. For that I am thankful. I love my city. The West Loop Art Fest is bucketlist worthy. I will see you next year, thankfully. I do recommend stopping by. Taking in one of the many remaining fests in Chicago. Today was a great, fantastic experience. Till we meet again.

Any time you put local art, Cevapcici Chicago, Revolution Brewing Co craft brews, Lula Cafe's…read moresangria and Balkan brass outfit Black Bear Combo together, you're guaranteed a good time. Add my sidekick Brett D and me to the mix and it gets that much better! Kidding, of course. It was 92 degrees in the shade, but at least we had shade to speak of. After taking in the band and lounging lazily in the grass, we checked out the Wagyu Wagon (they seem to have a fast following between their tacos, burger and bahn mi), Jameson soft serve ice cream, Taquero Fusion (Mexican corn on the cob!) and the Gaztro-Wagon's naan-wiches. Best food lineup I've seen at a festival... ever! Cevapcici has my sausage-lovin' heart, but it's nice to know I have other delicious options should I want them. It's kind of a bizarre layout with the beginnings of the festival starting some six city blocks away or so at California, but having the room to sprawl out and not play bump and grind was definitely appreciated. Check this one out next year, it's a good one!

Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival is yet another great summer festival that runs down Milwaukee from…read moreDiversey to Kedzie. The usual $5 suggested donation is encouraged for entrance. This festival, as it is named, includes art of all kinds. They have the regular pop up tents with jewelry and paintings but they also have some indoor exhibits as well along Milwaukee. Come check out some of the beautiful sights and sounds of the Logan Square neighborhood as they have musical performances on the North and South ends of the Milwaukee Avenue fest. Unlike many other festivals this fest does not require the purchase of tickets. Bring some cash and fill up and food and drinks. Also, they only offer 312, which is not a bad thing but is different than most festivals that have the $5 Bud Light choice as well as the $6 Goose Island option. From BBQ to pizza to ice cream, this festival has all of the food options for you to choose from. Sangria and mixed lemonade drinks are also very popular at this event. There is plenty of space to find an area to sit or stand to eat and drink. There are also some areas designated with picnic tables so you can enjoy your meal that way if you so choose. This festival does not get as busy as the Chicago Ribfest but still draws a large enough crowd to keep it entertaining.

Such a pleasant surprise when we ended up at the art fair while in search of the Ikebana walk at…read moreSouthport Corridor. Love the exhibits of local Illinois artisans from Chicagoland and elsewhere, great talent , affordable prices and good vibes . Will certainly try come back next year . It's not overly crowded and quick moving traffic . I fell in love with a couple of pieces of art and ended up getting some paintings

Nicely laid out Fest. Wide enough area to walk. Nice mix of art, jewelry, decor, and clothes…read more Perfect summer outing. Great shops & restaurants nearby.