What a fun lgbtq festival this is. Taking up several blocks in Lakeview, you'll see it all. A lot of shirtless, bare butt men lol, people in drag, wild getups, and people who are able to love freely. Thankfully we've come a long way in society, but we still have a long way to go. This street festival offers a lot to the queer community as well as allies. -Free HIV testing, free condoms, educational materials, and support groups You'll find typical faire foods up and down the streets. Most of the vendors accept cards and many accept Apple Pay, but you will find some who are cash only. While it isn't required, they do ask that you pay $20 a person to get in. This donation allows Market Days to afford musical talent, so don't be stingy. Just pay up and know you're supporting a great cause. read more

We stopped in to enjoy the songs and sights at Market days yesterday 8/6/2022. We came across many stages with awesome music. Although the sun stage was super loud and not our favorite; we were able to find two stages that played awesome music! The prices of food and drinks was quite pricey! So be prepared for that. $12 for a margarita was the best deal for a cocktail we could find and they were delish and strong! Also, they had plenty of shops that sell clothing, jewelry, etc here. Find what suits you. The people watching is quite amazing, but the best part is the company you go with and the perfect stage of music that you'll find. Enjoy!! read more

Northalsted Market Days - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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First tip is dress for the weather, the 2nd is bring cash! To their credit though, some drink areas were credit only but sloooow. Aside from food there are organizations, clothes, jewelry, intimate education, and things of an..'adult' nature. And of course music, music and MORE music! We enjoyed Macy Gray for a while (can't believe it's been 20 years almost since 'I Try') and the 80s tribute group Sixteen Candles. The stage for the great group seemed smaller than last year. I am not fond of the stage in front of 7-11 at Roscoe/Halsted. I would only encourage those who LOVE crowds or have a ton of patience to go in there while a stage is going on. The crowd was friendly and it was cool to feel old and young again rocking out to 30-something year old songs! I try to lose my inhibitions and germaphobia at these things but I can't STAND the beach ball bumping around during the concert! Sand is (arguably) cleaner than dirt so touching it is like shaking hands with 70 people who just did pushups on the ground! Gross! read more

Northalsted Market Days - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I went on both days because my friends wanted to go. My friend Sage and I went back there today because we wanted to see Tony Hadley from Spandau Ballet. That was fun! We thoroughly enjoyed his performance. He performed all the greatest hits including "True" from the movie 16 candles. God...I love that movie. I used to dream about my own Jake Ryan in high school. A sweet boy who waits for me next to his red Porsche after one of the worst days of my life. Haha...just kidding! I've always wondered why he never made a movie after that. Back to Tony, he even performed a Duran Duran and a U2 song which was cool. I guess the festival is fun for people who likes to get drunk or if you are still young. We did not really like it because it was too crowded and too loud! They were playing jarring music at every street corner. The people were so uncivilized, and they were pushing and shoving everyone. Urgh...I was so over it after one hour! So primitive! We also thought the ATMs were a rip off. $5.00 service charge? Are you kidding me? It was a good thing some of the vendors accepted credit cards. I purchased an upcycled business card holder from Koru Street. I loved it! read more

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The gays (and allies) come to party for Market Days! It is no lie when they call Market Days the largest street festival in the Midwest- which is pretty amazing! This was Julia R and I's first time making an appearance. It felt like Pride 2.0, except in Chicago. Basically, it's an awesome, inclusive, street festival with tons of vendors, live music, DJs, and, of course, BOOZE + FOOD. For a street festival, the prices for beer were more reasonable than I expected, my Bud Lights were $6, and Julia's cider/ wine were only $7. Pretty reasonable, I'd say! We didn't get food, because we were on a mission to get Mexican food at the end of our day, but there were plenty of options! I would say bringing cash is the easiest way to pay, cards took a while, and some vendors didn't accept them at all. It was a hot one, but they had folks spraying us with hoses, in a good way! I have never seen more pretty gay men in one place in my life, but who could be mad about that?! There were also all kinds of LGBTQ+ folx there! It was an awesome first experience and we will probably go for longer next year! Pro tip: pregame before, you know the drill ;).Overall such happy vibes and tons of fun! read more

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Just another Chicago street festival, same as all the others with a few drag queens and guys prancing in underwear thrown in. Same cover bands. Same greasy carnival food. Same vendors selling usual kitsch. (Except for a few with some kinky stuff.) Same lame overpriced beer. Very little unique about it. I wonder if it is just getting tired. Raised entrance fee to $15 from $10. Seemed this year that attendance was way down, not as bone-crushing crowded as pre-pandemic. read more

I absolutely love Market Days, and am sad my second year experiencing it is over! *If you want to eat/drink outside, DEFINITELY bring cash or a debit card!* Suggested donation is $5-10 to enter the fest, which is down Halsted in Lakeview, and those who donate receive a lil' sticker. Very cute. Once you're in, you have to pay for beers and food from vendors, most of which are businesses located in Boystown like Roscoe's, Chicago Diner, and Sidetrack, just to name a few. There are also plenty of free activities as well, and free goodies from businesses, too, which is always fun! This year I snagged a McCafe iced coffee from a McDonald's stand, some Tums (hell yeah), some Pretzel Crisps, and even some swag from the Human Rights Campaign! Lines to get in to businesses are long, but no one really seems to ever be bothered, because Market Days is all about love and celebration. People who live on Halsted sit with their feet dangling out their windows, others spray you with hoses due to the heat, and there are plenty of restrooms (sorry if you don't like Port-O-Potties, though), so lines to pee aren't usually that bad. There's plenty of alcohol, mostly beer, and you can buy food as well. People bring their dogs, everyone takes photos, and honey, if you're into drag, dress up or see a show at Roscoe's over the weekend. LOVE YOU, MARKET DAYS! See you next year. read more

So, ...uh....remember the Family Guy episode when Brian's gay brother comes to town, and they are standing in the kitchen when the gay brother says something like, "ooooo, this music makes me just want to go: [real techno] 'oonph oonph phth phth' ....[gyrating hips and waving raised arms in tandem] These guys were actually doing just that above Mini-Bar: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/IszJZily6eK_OfOxIjno_Q?select=Jo78FNdtvh9K9D4sj2K4lA http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/IszJZily6eK_OfOxIjno_Q?select=QrABEDflwjzkmmDEzjuypw I live at ground zero for the North Halsted Street Market Days, and I've been listening to a blaring Madonna-Cher-Donna Summer mix for the last hour. Here's the view from my ringside seat: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/IszJZily6eK_OfOxIjno_Q?select=ZxNkdeVmzmKSWdp8PEHMcw so, ...uh......I don't get why people would go one molecule out of their way to stroll the street amidst blaring, awful music, cheap t-shirts, bad art, leather wristbands, dime-a-dozen jewelry, fattening Taste of Chicago leftovers, and so on. I think we're goin' to the gym and to a friend's house - for a long time. read more

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As far as my local festivals go, by far the best. I had a good friend play with his Rolling Stones cover band in 2017 so I felt obligated to go. So glad I did. Super fun crowd and amazing artistic venues that I didn't reckon on. Sure, you've got the same roadie stands with their greasy food and anything they can put bacon bits on. Otherwise, well done! read more

Northalsted Market Days - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Bears, queers and Drag queens oh' my Halsted Market Days is always a hot mess in the sun Lots of Booze, Flesh and Enthusiasm Never a dull moment at the most attended festival in the midwest with 4 stages of entertainment and lots a cock-tails keeps the day and evening interesting but bring your patience it's hot and crowded with lines forming around the clock We went to see Ultra Nate and Martha Wash Both were wonderful and a vert Satisfying way to spend Saturday night read more

What can I say, I LOVE Market Days!!!... also known as the parade of people I've made out with.

Something for everyone ATMOSPHERE: Everyone was here to have fun. So be prepared to drink, be prepared to party, and be prepared to be wowed with a great selection of food trucks and stands FOOD: I had food from the yum dum truck, my review for that can be found here on Yelp. CROWD: The crowd is heavily LGBT, very lively, and scantily clad. read more

Northalsted Market Days - Near Naked Twister - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We had a great time at Market Days this year. Yes, there are some of the same vendors you see at other festivals. Yes, drinks are expensive. But the crowd is much more diverse and fun compared to other festivals. The gentleman working the entrance were friendly and not harassing people if they didn't pay the $8 suggested donation. This was not the case at Wicker Park Fest, where the people working the entrance were basically telling people they couldn't enter unless they paid. At Northalsted Market Days, it appeared that most people were paying the donation. The organizers of Wicker Park Fest publicly complained that nobody was paying their donation. There was a variety of music and djs, so different groups of people were happy. I enjoyed watching 16 candles on Sunday night - the large crowd sang along to the songs and seemed to be having a really good time. I was happy to see local businesses with booths, but I think there could be even more. There were a few local food options that looked good, but a lot of the food didn't look appetizing. I think it would be fun if there were many more local, interesting food options. Perhaps bring in some of the creative local food trucks? read more

Northalsted Market Days - Sunday Night - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Oy! I hate to do this, but this was probably the worst festival I've been to this summer and I love these types of festivals :( Yes, I did go both days... Here's the deal. I just did not like it at all. Why? - Festival was so long that it took forever to walk from one side to the other because of all the bottlenecks you had to push your way through. In fact, those bottlenecks were mainly at Minibar with men dancing and throwing beads off a tall stage and at Hydrate where men sprayed you with water as you passed by (not realizing it was pretty chilly Saturday morning). - Do not go here with more than one/two people or you will get separated for sure and search for each other the whole time. - The worst had to be the main stage during the En Vogue concert. I don't know why, but people were so rude and pushing. - The ground was more disgusting than any other festival I've been to this summer. - Not many food choices Good news was: - The concerts by Spin (Belmont stage) were the easiest and best to view. There was enough room to still move around and many places to stand. - Hearty Boys was there with their wonderful Champagne Lemonade Slushy and Tang Mimosas. - Saturday day was the best time to attend. There were still enough people to make it like a street fair, but not too crowded where you can't even walk. I still hold strong at the Andersonville Midsommer's Fest being the best festival of this type. Now, I remember why I only stayed 30 miuntes at Market Days last year. read more

I got so many free condoms I don't know what to do with them (because I'm married not because I don't know what to do with a condom). Other than all the condoms, there was some of Ru Paul's drag queens from her TV show (no clue but there was a line to see these ladies). So my wife and I brought a hip flask of rum to this thing intent on getting those pina colada pineapples. When my group stopped walking around and hung out at a stage, I told Leia I'll go get a pineapple. So I walk like 3 blocks until I find it. I order my drink and start walking back. I got stopped multiple times to be told that I have the most beautiful looking drink. So, I just told them where I bought it and they can go there to get one too...... I thought that that would be a safe way to say I was not too interested in that sort of stuff. But then the dude responded "what about your drink, where are you going with that one?" I gave the most truthful and nice response I could at the time, "to my wife." He looked disappointed. But free condoms!!!!! read more

I would probably give this a 2.5 if there were half stars. It's fun, for sure, but it is a hot mess, both literally and figuratively. We hit up both days of the festival, and partook of many of its offerings. (No condoms this year, btw, at least not anywhere that I went.) These things are always a good time for people watching, dancing, getting tipsy in a fairly safe and friendly environment, and seeing some scantily clad boys (if that's your thing). But the drink situation and the lack of cell coverage were deal breakers. Still, I'd say I got my $7-suggested-donation's worth. Ok, am I the only one who does not wanna drink Bud Light, malt liquor lemonade, or shitty wine? I guess they sponsor the event or something, but I was dying for a decent mixed drink or quality beer that I did not have to go on a major expedition to find. Advice for future goers: flask it up. The Acapulco-style pina coladas are virgin ($8 in the pineapple, $4 refills), but dump a few shots of rum or vodka in there and you will be in for a treat. Also, develop some sort of smoke signals, because once you're inside the area, you will lose all phone service. Especially if you have AT&T. Ok, bitching aside, once I got a few drinks in me I did have a pretty awesome time. Chicago Diner even had a food stand so that the vegans and vegetarians didn't have to go hungry!! Sweet. The Joan Jett show the last night was pretty great, except for the crowdedness and the set up. She rocked it though. read more

Son of a bitch, just when u think pride parade is it, they sneak market days on you. A mixture of eye candy, food, drinks, art, and other things this is a not miss event. While the festival might wear off on you quickly the few guys in dunk tanks were entertaining, the after party continues in many of the bars. We hit up Minibar which was packed, but not too crowded. read more

Northalsted Market Days - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

For a non-scene person such as myself, going to major shoulder-to-shouder, sweaty bare boob, drunkfest, crappy club music, greasy food, hyper politicized fair booth event such as this is not the most pleasant experience. However it is an indulgence I allow myself 1-2 times/year just to get a reminder of how things don't really change but also to get a healthy appreciation of the diversity of the community, which for better or worse we are all a part of. This year I stuck around for Olivia Newton John concert, which was completely mobbed, with many crowd members trying to run in panic of getting out of being squashed between squishy man boobs but could not escape....a surge nearly knocked us over every 10 minutes. As long as nobody gets hurt I guess. For such a clean people the gays leave such a mess after their festivals, the amount of garbage is unbelievable. Moderation is not the name of this game. read more

Now, THIS. THIS street fest has it going on! More swag, more interactive booths, more dancing, more sex appeal, more hotties than any other fest by far. If anything, I hope next year we see more thongs! (We will never miss this one again.) read more

One of the best festivals I have attended. You never know what you are going to encounter. You do have your typical jewelry vendors, food vendors, etc., but you can get some great giveaways. This year I came out with two rolls of paper towels and a full sized Neutrogena sunscreen. The crowd for the most part was congenial. The music acts varied, but we were not going to stay for the headliners. Alcohol was free flowing, but each bar had virtually the same menu. Also, there was a lack of dessert items such as ice cream. That would have been a lifesaver. The Jeni's truck was not in service for some reason. To beat the crowd, it is best to come early. You can then avoid the bottlenecks at Steamworks and Minibar. read more

How can you not love Market Days? Food, drinks, music, and amazing people watching abound! The bars and restaurants on Halstead set up outside so you can try drinks from plenty of places (mostly beer, sangria, and frozen concoctions). Despite loving Market Days, it is fairly similar to most Chicago summer festivals. It does get a better pull of C list music acts though. read more

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A piss-poor street festival that has steadily declined over the years. Very predictable events and mood and atmosphere: booze, flesh, and tacky things for sale between Belmont and Addison along Halsted Street. Food is overpriced and standard street festival fare. Musical entertainment isn't as "big name" as it once was just a few years ago. But dear God, the worst thing is the tacky brief "stage show" in front of Steamworks. Thanks for perpetuating the image of gay guys being sex-starved perverts. At least change your fucking show once in awhile, instead of staging that same bullshit thing with the guys in towels. read more

Free samples of champagne, iced tea, flavored water. Free professional seated photo you can upload to Facebook instantly from Progressive Auto's "Faces of Pride" booth. About 80 free condoms per person. Some booths with great information (e.g., Lambda Legal! SLDN!). Lots of booths with prize wheels in which you will likely win a plastic bracelet. Some booths with porn. Liquor and festival foods (including, but not limited to: veggie corn dogs, pad thai, pierogi, fried oreo) being sold by vendors with the attention spans of hamsters. Decent sound systems on the music stages, though the rain threw off the whole schedule. Dozens of men hanging out of windows above Halsted soliciting beads. None falling to their death while I watched in terror. read more

Great food, not really, great art, not really. Great fun TOTALLY. Drop in Sidetracks when your tired and sing the night away.

I have a love/hate relationship with street festivals. The bars along this festival are a lot of fun. Good music and pretty empty earlier in the evening since everyone is outdoors. Outdoors, food and drinks are overpriced as expected and the street is overly crowded, considering the selection of booths is not super great. Some of the booths are entertaining (aka the bars), but a lot of the space is taken up by WalMart, Walgreens and the like...large corporations and people selling cheap jewelry. Short form: Lots of the bad merchandise and overpriced food you find at other festivals joined by fun bars, okay music and a too-crowded couple of blocks. (I like Wicker Park Fest way better.) read more

This is my favorite festival for people watching. The food is OK... But the music is always off the chain-last year Jennifer Hudson this year-Saturday EN VOGUE- Sunday -SALT AND PEPPER ..,, No VIP passes this year - i don't think?!! However, you can go to special events management.com and get all the info , lineup etc. SEE YOU THERE... FYI- vendors are unusual and interesting. read more

I've gone to this for the last three years and it's a blast; basically just a giant block party put on by the local business association, it's a chance to pub crawl, socialize, and dance to live music. A major highlight at last year's event was the performance by Boy Band Revue; a band with instruments performing 90s/00s boy band songs, with the lead singers actually performing the choreography. Despite being run by the business association, it feels less commercial and more communal than the Pride parade festivities. read more

I hereby declare this year's Market Days the lamest ever. It pains me to write that, because I love Market Days. It's my favorite festival of the summer, and not just because I'm a big queer. Though it helps, since one of the major attractions is hot guys with their shirts off. And sometimes more. And yes, there's the usual excessive assortment of sunglasses / jewelry / handbag booths. And crappy art. But in the mix, there's generally some fun arts and crafts, decent fair food, and great music. This year, it was Generic Street Fair. First, whoever came up with the Mardi Gras theme needs to be shot. This is a Chicago festival. People come to this fest from around the country. What is the point of making the central image of your festival an iconic event from another city? That's just stupid. Not only that, but every major venue featured that same fucking Pierrot mask, which is great for creating unity -- if it wasn't such an ugly image -- but destroyed any sense of individuality. On a similar note, Gourmet Grape apparently scored the drink concession for the entire festival, because their offerings -- and banner -- were everywhere. Better a local vendor than Budweiser, I guess -- though Bud and Bud Light were still the primary offerings -- but after a while, all i could think was, "What's the deal with fucking Gourmet Grape?" Which is probably not the result they were after. Greed is the real theme of Market Days this year. It's already one of the more expensive festivals in the city, with a $7 "donation" fee. This year, they instituted special VIP passes for the stage at the Addison end of the fair. [BTW, the stages at Belmont and Addison have both been moved off Halsted Street and into nearby parking lots, which deadens the excitement of the fest a little, but does allow for easier entrance.] According to their website, "Market Days is offering the OPTION of "Front Row Seating" at the Addison Stage. This 23 foot "VIP Area" includes use of private port-o-johns, tables for your cocktails and food, a "private" beverage station, up-close and personal viewing of the stage and 2 complimentary beverages." The price of this perk? 50 bucks per day. It's good they put "Front Row Seating" in quotation marks, because there is no seating in the "VIP Area." It's just a fenced-off area 23 feet from the stage, with three or four cafe tables and a handful of port-a-potties. Your view is no different from that of the people standing on the other side of the fence, and since the stage is at least 6 feet high, you're not getting that much of an up-close and personal experience. But you do get to stand right in front of the speakers. If that's your thing, have fun. I suspect, but cannot prove, that a lot of the smaller vendors have been priced out of this fest. There were a handful of interesting booths, but not the number I recall from the past. And the food vendors were mostly generic burger/brat/funnel cake outlets. Hearty Boys, Chicago Diner, and Sura Thai had stands, but I'm hard-pressed to think of another local food vendor. With all that, it's hard for me to rate this event at less than 3 stars. I still had a good time. But I fear I'll look back at this year as a turning point in this festival's journey on the road to mediocrity. read more

Market Days keeps getting worse every year. People come to Market Days from all over the place so it definitely attracts all types. But every year it feels more and more like the trashy type. My bf lives just a half block away from Halsted and this year was the first time his street was completely lined with trash, half eaten food, and puke. Seriously disgusting and almost worse than Pride. You expect a certain amount of trash when huge events like this happen but this year I just felt like the level of respect for our city, our neighborhood, and Market Days in general just took a nose dive. Also what happened to all the local artists and food vendors? I didn't even drink this year so I'm pretty sure I didn't stumble by some of my old favorites in a drunken haze. Very disappointing but at least the weather wasn't as nightmare hot as it was last year. read more

Got here early to get ahead of the crowds but that did not happen. Nice weather and everyone was up and out early. I have worked in a booth in the past for a charity but today I was free to roam. This is no doubt a people watching experience. When you think you have seen something strange look the other way and yes it gets more strange. But hey its outside booze, food, music and entertainment galore.Bring the family and be ready for your children to ask questions. No shame here. Had a fun time for a few hours then got out as the crowds got thicker. One of the more entertaining and fun festivals in Chicago. read more

I love Market Days and I look forward to it every year. The music was great and everyone seem to be so friendly. The food wasn't too bad and I'd have to admit the food prices are reasonable. And half naked buff men are pretty amazing eye candy! Kudos to the organizers for bringing in some great music! read more

Always a gay old time!...pardon the pun, couldn't resist. This thing is like a hybrid of a street festival and a rave: along with the usual food and craft vendors, there's also plenty of blaring techno and scantily clad hunks abound. read more

What is better then a party on the street?... A Party on the street with hot guys and Alcohol. This street fest has it all great vendors great food and great live acts. I have been coming to market days for years and while the twinks never (change they are messier then ever) this event just seems to get better every year. The vendor booths are always unique and have things you will not find else where. The boys aren't the only piece of hot beef... were else can you get a great Kobe burger for under $10... Yoshi's Kobe burger is great and they sell them here for a steal. If you're looking for a great time be sure to come out next August. read more

This year was my very first Northalsted Market Days and I had a blast! I am an 80's fanatic and I had to be in the very front row for Expose. They have so many different bands at different times and different stages. I am definitely looking forward to next year's line up. This event is so energetic, people are dancing, and there is music blasting from every direction. It was VERY CROWDED and rubbed shoulders every step of the way...but it was sooo much fun. The best part was hanging out at Scarlet and getting my dance on so early in the day :) read more

Market Days has what the straight street fairs are missing, pizaaz! Having been told that I am a gay man in a woman's body, I love the electronica music blasting, the bead throwing and go-go dancing boys abounding everywhere you go along with the traditional street fare. It makes us remember life is just a party and we have to live it while we can! Although it was so uber crowded right around the dancing go-go boys above mini-bar but who can blame the crowd, it was the place to get an eye full of yumminess. The progressive photo booth that loaded your picture directly onto your facebook account was also a lot of fun. The headliners for the music stages were refreshing after the same ol', same ol' of all the other fests that have the usual 3 different bands playing. There were bands from around the country leading up to the headliners that were great too (some not so great but you get that at all the fests) Market Days, where else can you get hugged by a drag queen, see go-go boys, get filmed and get hit on by boys looking for cougars! What a fabulous time! read more

great fest, great people. it was my first time so i had been dying to go. my personal favorite portion of the day was watching the men at steamworks play twister in their skivvies. i could have stood there for hours. but then i realized that they want nothing to do with this. read more

i LOVE market days! its my favorite holigay! however this year i was a bit disappointed of the musical groups they had performin this year. they had 10,000 maniacs without natalie merchant! huh? how is that possible!?! it sooo wasnt the same! then the wilson phillips concert was soo overwhelming! ther were a million people therebut not enough room 2 hold all those people. my boy & i got caught in that crowd & was tryin 2 get out & it took 4ever 2 get 2 the sidewalk. i thought i was gonna hav a panic attack! anyways, i know 2 stay away from big performances from now on! read more

This festival used to be the best when compared to Pride and Sommersfest in Andersonville. Havent been in years, but from the looks of things it seems it hasn't changed much....just a younger crowd being young. I did notice that the selection of beers or alcoholic drinks has been streamlined...which is no bueno. I walked the whole street and could not find one dark beer. So, I was resorted to going in one of the establishments... which is bad for the festival and good for the businesses. Crowds were a little bit more tame this year except in two areas...in front of Hydrate's outside stage and in front of Steamworks stage but for two different reasons. The mix of venders was the same as usual...some items for purchase and some organizations slinging their useless merch. Overall, nice afternoon activity, but not in a hurry to come back...I will if nothing else is going in and its not raining... read more

This year, The festival was sort of a turn off. Yes, It's a real diverse fest, Which is a plus. But the seating is horrible. It's practically a mosh pit. The stuck-up owners of one restaurant were very snooty & condescending, When they "reserved" their outdoor festival seating for theirselves.The owner was actually being an ahole about it. read more

i had a wonderful time ... wall to wall lezies & good food ... the fest makes for a fun weekend every year ... 5 stars for the lezies alone, but the food & music make the cut ... not a fest for the bible thumpers ... HOORAH! read more