The Taste of Highland Park is huge and a fantastic thing for the city! It ran in conjunction with…read morethe 34th Port Clinton Art Festival so it was just streets and streets full of art with just a bit of food, music and other booths. You can take the Metra and hop right off at the fest. It ran Friday night, Saturday & Sunday over an August weekend. There is free parking & free admission, ah how I love 'Burb fests. Plus they don't have a bunch of weird carnival vendors carted in. The food was all from local Highland Park restaurants. Loved that! In the art portion, they had 260 artists selling their stuff ranging from classic to unique to sculptures. Saw a lot of cool stuff I wouldn't have minded purchasing. There was a stage with live music! Loved that and so cute seeing the little kids bopping around. We really enjoyed the entire fest and wouldn't hesitate to go back!

I have been to a few of these community taste festivals and many were meh. But Highland Park, you…read moretook things to another level and blew my expectations! A small festival but packed with people, well organized and great atmosphere! We went there during the evening after work (5pm) and unfortunately, the art vendors were closing down already. The art festival should run till late as well, for this is the time most people and family can make it there, especially in summer/fall time when the sun is still up. Nevertheless, we were there for the food. Even though the vendors were few, they were good quality vendors and this is what counts. Many festivals would only have budget vendors wtih food that you don't really wanna try. But these were the renowned restaurants in Highland Park and it was just a good opportunity to see their menu and taste them. My favorite was Siam of Ruby. We've heard of them but never been their restaurant. We tried their curry and it was SOOOO good! The curry was fragrant and had a good kick. Pity the amount was small, as we licked it up pretty quickly, a little too quick than we would have preferred! Guess I have to make time to visit you guys! Another highlight was Back Yard Grill. I never knew they had souvlaki and gyro. The gyro's rice in particular was very nice, the balance and flavor of the lemon+tumeric was YUM! Of course, BYG always get their meat right! Environment of the festival. The festival was located on the main street of Highland Park wth the road closed, which was nice. Then the tables were nicely set up on the side, with white tents, tables and chairs. These were a nice aesthetic touch and thoughtful, as people could really stand and eat, but if you want people to enjoy, mingle and be comfortable, you go the extra mile to do these. Music. The band was a good choice too. Not too folky, not too disney, not too heavy-metal, but a great selections of songs that was fast paced, high energy, and doesn't ruin your ears. Simply a quality band that connected well with the crowd including children! These are what sets Highland Park's festival apart from the rest. The attention to details and the thoughtfulness! See you next year!

We love going to Art in the Park in Northbrook at the Village Green.  This year it happened during…read morethe Mother's Day weekend on May 9 and May 10.  There were over 80 artists covering many categories.  I have observed that there was more art in the homey and traditional style and less modern art, targeting a more mature and senior audience.  Of course, it was suitable for art-goers of all ages, even for kids.  There was even a Kids Art Zone that featured  bingo, spin art, and sand sculpture.  When we were there, there was live music by a 2-men band on stage belting out songs that were rhythmic and very pleasing to the ears.  For us, dog spotting is always fun!  Many dogs walked in the art fair with their humans.  We love getting to socialize with some outgoing ones.  There are many eateries and restaurants around the park, and it's not hard finding free parking nearby.  This year the weather was perfect, making it a very enjoyable walk in the park!

Too many dogs. Need more different medias. Much too much jewelry. More music venues. All in all s…read morenice day to be out.

Art Store Gallery II is my "go to" place for framing. I have been a loyal customer for over a…read moredecade because of Kathyrn Mayberry (manager). Kathyrn has a keen eye and she always selects the perfect frame, mat, etc. I trust her judgement 100% and I rarely find someone whose judgement I trust that completely. Art Store Gallery has an extensive selection of quality frames and the service is top notch. They do archival quality work. While Kathryn selects a few frames that would go well with my piece, whether it be a photograph, painting, sketch, etc., her first choice is always what I end up selecting because she has the best taste. The prices are competitive and I have never been disappointed in the final product. You can entrust them to take good care of your artwork.

I attended 2 events at the Perkowitz Art studio in Grayslake with my husband. The first one was…read morerock painting that I have been doing for several years as I am a member of Grayslake Rocks. My husband surprised me when he said he wanted to attend & we both enjoyed the event immensely. The second event was in October to paint the Scary House. I had registered to attend with my good friend but due to unforseen circumstances she had to cancel at the last minute. My husband offered to accompany me as I had already registered & paid. We both were amazed this was not just painting a picture of a house, it was an art class taught by Tom Perkowitz. It was truly a memorable experience & who knew ? A Saturday afternoon date for this married couple who are polar opposites in many ways, accidentally discovering they had found a hobby that appealed to both of them & should pursue future events of this type. I bought paint by number sets for us & am hoping that more of this classes will be offered at the studio or may just create a paint party of my own with friends if there are no events coming up. I rate this a 5 & highly recommend this place to one & all.

My sons and daughter have come for the paint and sip events. They Love it!!!! It's their favorite…read moremom time the classes are great and well priced. We always get great instruction, supplies and time to complete our project. Myself and children have always been thrilled with the product we come home with and are anxious to go back to paint more. This last year has made us cautious but with the world reopening we will sure to return again and again.

Last year, erratic weather whipped up the entire festival in a huge gush of wind and rain and…read moredarkness. I happened to be in my apartment at the time, and heard shattering handmade porcelain things from my 5th floor window a block or two away. A curl of debris and feathers (er, there was at least one vendor of puppets) rose above the roofs of Orrington Ave. Then within minutes, just as quickly as it had begun, the sun was out again, beaming innocently like a cute girl who's just flicked the back of your head. That was a pretty tragic thing, because some people did get hurt from collapsing tents and whatnot, and also because a lot of original artwork that will never be duplicated likely was unexpectedly destroyed. I did explore the festival a few times last year as well as this year, and it remains damn awesome to walk through (physical Etsy, bitch!). For the most part, the artists are all there and very willing to chat with you about their work. Vendors are extremely varied-- as Danielle C. mentioned, there is plenty of 2D (photography, painting, whathaveyou), as well as jewelry. There's also a ton of ceramics, glass work, sculpture, recycled art, clothing, metalwork, and even furniture-- plus this guy who casts and handpaints awesome tiny model figures. Overall it's something like 225 tents to walk around and explore. (There is also street fair fare --ha!-- and live music, though neither is terribly interesting.) It's all a great dip into the Chicago craft scene. The downside: should you choose to buy, everything is horribly expensive. But if one is used to paying for handmade (and is it unfair to guess that the North Side of Illinois is used to $100 chip 'n' dip bowls?), or has friends they thoroughly thoroughly enjoy, then it probably is not too bad.

Mark your calendars kids... I, danielle C. ventured out of the city... to- GASP- a suburb for ----…read morehuge gush of breath to cover the embarassment--AN EVENT. I really don't know what happened. It must have been the Margaritas from Saturday night mixed with the Mojito from breakfast that made my will weaken. Otherwise, I just cannot figure out how I agreed to go into "the promised land". Cafe 28- I BLAME YOU- you serve a fantastic breakfast, and, an even better Mojito- that must have been it! Anyhoo... the evanston art festival. It was well done. The weather really helped. It was a horribly stormy afternoon, so the moms & pops with their spoiled childrunts (you know the ones I am talking about- the ones who cannot get wet, cry all the time, and whine non stop) stayed home- for the most part. So stormy- that 10 people were injured (according to the trib) by blowing tents. Go figure. The art was- well- all different types. Some really awesome mixed media prints were on display- that the few kids who were there were grossed out by- one of my friends headed for that tent immediately. I picked up a great white gold pearl pendant necklace. Love it- I always wear pendants- so- I felt like a treat was in order. Tons of photography and canvas paintings- ranging from about 25$- 1,500. If you felt so inclined, you could also purchase a metal palm tree-- I stayed away from that station, I did not want to encourage my friends! All in all- not crowded, decently priced, and more than just Chicago skyline photos! Oh- I found this funny when I was looking it up... They include stats on the attendance (cannot be accurate seeing as how we walked in and did not even have anyone asking for the suggested donation- :) go through the parking garage) ** 55% of attendees at the 2007 fair were from the Chicago/ Evanston area ** 38% came from the suburbs. HELLO??? Evanston is a suburb--- sheesh people!

Never returned my call. I heard it through the grapevine that they are out of business and no…read morelonger a venue that can be booked for weddings. However, they are still being advertised.

Not sure which caterer of the four that Cuneo allows but the food at a recent wedding was inedible…read more We chose the beef medallion option and we couldn't cut the meat. It was like hard rubber. Sadly our whole table left the meal. They served it with broccolini that was steamed plain with no salt or seasonings. The potato patty had so much sage in it that it was inedible. We saw others at different tables having the same issues. We just know the bride and groom had to pay a pretty penny for this unacceptable food. Such an embarrassment for the family. Definitely stay away from the Loyola Cuneo Mansion for a wedding. Hopefully they will make needed repairs and add some fresh paint to the exterior of the building. It must be noted that the ballroom was lovely and the tables were exquisitely dressed.

Quintessentially Lake Bluff. What's better than high-quality paintings, great gifts (I love the…read moreoversized Christmas ornaments which are now a staple in my home and my family's homes!), and unique vintage furniture all packed in a little store on the square?! Awesome work by Julie, Kristen, and of course Kristen's Frenchie Ollie in making this such a special shop!

This was a top notch event. So happy Yelp (and our amazing North Shore Manager Angela!!!) hooked it…read moreup with tickets. I dont know where to start. Delicious wines, great beers, filling and absolutely delicious food. And. It. Was. All. Free. We brought Quinn with us so we couldn't get as weird as we wanted to, but we still enjoyed ourselves! The biggest surprise was the food at the Glenview Golf Club table. I know I'm mislabeling the gold course, so I'm sorry! It was the golf course that hosted the event. They served fried macaroni balls and some buffalo chicken dip or popper or something. It was sooooo good!!! There was also a really good meatloaf and chocolate brownie from Teds Montana Grill. Definitely good choices on their part to sample those. We will check their restaurant out because of their participation. We had s couple samples of Revolution Brewing and many wine samples. Not enough to get buzzed though, c'mon we are responsible parents!!

Man, I love a good event! We found out about this brews and bites from our Yelp manger, I entered…read moreto win tickets, and we won! We love tasting local foods, but we have a 1 year old, and if we got a sitter every time we wanted to go out, we'd never see our baby! This event was the perfect way to taste some of the local restaurant's fare and be with our little one. The food was phenomenal, the drinks were great, but most of all the staff and samplers were so nice! We really had a wonderful time! Thanks Yelp!!