Large festival honoring the cheese history in Green county Wi. Every even year on the 3rd weekend…read morein September.Hundreds of people from around Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Fried cheese curds, Swiss entertainers, large parade . Good family fun.

Monroe Cheese Days, how to describe it for someone who's never been? It's a festival celebrating…read moreMonroe's claim to fame: cheese. More specifically, locally made cheese and limburger cheese. Local beer is a big part of it too, but that's not the star of the show (and for good reason because Minhas brews are less than good). There's live music, most of which is fantastic (pro tip: check out the beer tent down by Minhas, that's where you'll find some great music, especially later in the afternoon and evening). There are some fun Swiss cultural experiences to be had from the stage on the South side of the Square thanks to the Alphorn players, yodelers, and accordion players. As for food, the cheese curds are stupid good. Yes the line is long, and yes you should do it anyway. I only wish they'd offer an additional ticket where you have the option to pay an extra $.50-$1 to pair funky cheese sauces and aioli dips with your curds. These curds certainly don't need sauces, but it'd add to the whole foodie experience. A few notes for first-timers: -Get the cheese curds. You can't possibly participate in a Cheese Days celebration without eating these cheese curds. I promise they're the best you've ever had. -There are two beer areas: one surrounding the square, a second at the beer tent. The beer used to be restricted to beer tents only, now you can wander each respective area. -Music at the Beer tent is a must. -The beer stand on the square offers different brews than that at the Beer Tent down by Minhas, so try something from both areas. Don't expect to love the Minhas beer though. -Check out the hospitality tent ahead of time for events you want to participate in. They're free. I recommend the cheese and beer pairing class. It's lead by a Master Cheesemaker.

So much fun, unforgettable memories with family, there is music and many food trunks.read more

spent $200 and there was no one hired to help with traffic and we waited over 2 hrs just to try and…read morepark . After 2 hrs we saw we were still over a mile from the entrance so at that point turned around. we wouldn't have even made it in on time to set off our lanterns. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY

What an absolute blast. The local Lions Club event is excellent…read more There is something for everyone. A children's bounce house and large play area. There is also another play ground as well. There are bands playing and adult beverages - it is Wisconsin... The food is good and the prices are reasonable. It is for a good cause. Williams Bay is beautiful. Stay at the Chippewa and make it a weekend.

The Williams Bay Lions Club sponsors this annual event, which takes place over three days in…read moremid-August in Edgewater Park. If you want to eat a seemingly unlimited supply of corn on the cob and brats, you're in luck. You can also enjoy hot dogs and hamburgers, as well as a seemingly endless flow of Miller Lite. The corn and brats this year were very tasty. The corn got especially rave reviews from dozens of my extended family members. I think the real winner here is the bake sale, where homemade baked goods (brownies, cookies, pies, etc.) abound. Everyone can enjoy the live entertainment, and there is a playground and other activities for the kids.

Great day for the festival. Games, tournaments, food and beverages. Even desserts featuring Sassy…read moreCow ice cream. Canoes and kayaks available to rent for a donation to the Maunesha River Alliance.

Such a fun little town. Hung out on the square at the local fair. Live music. Great food. A bit of…read morerich history. Fun rides. We ranged from 2-62 and everyone of us had a fun time!

Nice hometown festival. Food, drinks, live music, rides. Good times, of course it can't have 5…read morestars b/c our Chi neighborhood festivals are on a different level...sorry Liberty-thrill! But at least I started this post so you can flourish :)

I needed to drive to Crystal Lake to pick up some items I'd…read morepurchased from Mum. I found out that the day I was driving up is the same day the Johnny Appleseed Festival was happening, which filled me with dread since I figured it would be hard to find a spot. Luckily I found a spot with relative ease just across the block from the store. Since I was in town and found an actual space (instead of leaving my flashers on or calling the store to bring it out) I decided I had to give the festival a walk through. I love festivals. I love the quirky festivals and events that small towns and small cities come up with, and the love some of the little traditions that they maintain over time. Having said all that, the Johnny Appleseed Festival was a bit disappointing. As another reviewer mentioned, there's hardly any "apple" found at the festival to go along with this theme, though there is a Johnny Appleseed wandering around. He told his story to those gathered at the Crystal Lake Public Library area outside Raue Center a few times today. Other than that there wasn't much of interest to me. I wandered along Williams Street and went into a couple shops I've been curious about when I've been here before. I walked to the town square, where there was a band playing and a few food booths (four or five) set up, as well as a farm stand that had the only apples to be found. That stand also had apple cider donuts, but they were only sold by the half dozen so I don't want to buy any. I did stop at the Knights of Columbus booth to get some food, and it wasn't bad. There were some craft booths on the other side of the gazebo in the Metra parking lot, but since I didn't see much in the first few booths (nor did I want to spend money) I didn't walk down there too much. On the oppose side, near the intersection of Williams and Brink Streets, were a variety of activities for kids. Would I return again? Definitely, if I had kids. Alone I'm not sure, but I'm glad I can say I went. It's a nice free event and I think if I was looking for something to do there it could be fun. And I like that the theme is something besides just apples, though I do wish there was a greater emphasis on that fruit (no apple butter, applesauce, apple pie... what about an apple pie bake-off, or a pie eating contest??). I'm not sure if they keep it small on purpose or whether competing with the Long Grove Apple Festival keeps it from being wall to wall people (which I appreciate!!). My favorite part was the scarecrows and other creatures that decorated the streets, as part of a contest the city does for businesses that enter. Some of them were super artistic, some were funny, some were a little too true to life (like the one asking if you need marriage counseling!), and even the attorney's office got in on the fun. There was Granny Smith, the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, and even the Sanderson Sisters, who I didn't even recognize until I was adding their photo to this review. Reply fun to see what the businesses in town come up with!

I'm a person who pretty much despises any season that involves mildly chilly to cold temperatures…read more Give me sun. Give me heat. Viva la sweaty girl mustache. Unfortunately, I live in a place where those things can really only be embraced for like 3 months out of the year... if I'm lucky. The rest of the 9 months left in the year I live a pretty miserly life, holed up in my homestead and complaining about everything and anything I can get my hands on to complain about because I'm mad at myself for not finding the motivation to move before the weather turned cold again... with the exception of one day.... I can handle exactly one perfect fall day. For one brisk but sunny Autumn day, I can trick myself into thinking fall is a magical time of year. Colors, pumpkins, slightly less road construction... and then as quickly as the feeling came, it always withers away come the passing of 24-hours where wearing socks is no longer seasonally optional. Cold toes = Crabby Candi. So this year, my one day of embracing fall coincided swimmingly with Crystal Lake's Annual Johnny Appleseed Fall Festival. I got up, I suited up in my cuffed jeans, thicker socks, boots, a tee + a flannel, and I packed a light jacket, too, just in case. The sun was shining and I knew it was my day. ... until I left my perpetually cold apartment and realized that it was actually a freak fall day where it was actually going to be 88-degress outside and I was going to be sweating bullets through my underoos. Well shiiiiiiiit. Ah well, I might never be able to get the heavy sweat stink out of the clothes I was wearing, but I'll take and unseasonably warm day over the alternative every time. We drove out to this fest and at first glance, it looked pretty lame. Kinda like just a bunch of craft tents in an empty parking lot... but we don't live anywhere near here and I wasn't turning back now. We parked in a large lot for festival-goers (which was free) and walked over. A few of the craft tents were selling the same kind of typical hometown craft stuff, but there were definitely some cool unique ones, like a vendor who makes guitars out of fancy old cigar boxes and a merchant that makes awesome painted jewelry organizers out of wood planks (I def bought a fox one). We circled through the craft tent pretty quickly and decided that since we'd already come so far, we might as well check out downtown Crystal Lake as well. Upon wandering just a block up to the main downtown drag, we discovered that festival was a lot bigger than we'd initially thought. The whole town is involved and while you don't have to walk more than 2.5 blocks to see the whole thing, it was a fun scavenger hunt. The food area takes place in a park just off the main drag and has a bunch of tables and chairs, an area band playing music near the gazebo, and local vendors selling fall foods. We got a b*tchin' lentil vegan sloppy joe the Duke's Alehouse tent. There's another big area designated for the fest with little carnival rides and the saddest pony rides ever. I have to give that attraction 0 stars because it was depressing and looked hella cruel. A bunch of mini ponies at the end of big metal turnstile all face to ass with no food or water. It was actually really terrible to see and part of me wants downgrade the whole fest for thinking that kind of thing is okay, but something tells me they probably got that already based on the fact that every ride/attraction had a line except that one, which was empty every time we passed. The ride area also had your usually giant slide and bouncy house things as well. If you're into that sort of thing. There's a hella authentic looking older gentleman who dresses as Johnny Appleseed (a character I really know nothing about and am frankly too lazy to Google) that you can take pics with. Kids loved him, I kind of loved him. He was like a friendlier, white-haired, Ron Swanson and Santa Klaus blend. Throughout the fest they have super creative scarecrows on display, all put together with a theme from a local business. My favorite was the one by the antique mall that was of a scarecrow kid crying into it's Dad's hip, and the the Dad holding a sign about the mom going missing... last seen entering the antique mall for just.one.thing... which is the ultimate women's lie. Beside the sad animal stuff, the festival was a really great fall festival for families. Not too big, not too small, tons of activities scheduled throughout the day and lots of local shops get in on the fun as well. If I'm having my good cold-weather day again in 49 weeks when the next one happens, I'd totally come back.

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.

Chicago is a summer of festivals and I love exploring each and every one. We saw a Groupon for…read morePorky's rib fest and decided to give it a shot! At $15 for two adult entrance tickets and free parking, it was pretty reasonable for festival pricing. As you do at a rib fest, we ordered a bunch of ribs from the following places: - Rasta Joe's: The best out of the bunch. The ribs were cooked perfectly and the sauce was great, with a hint of Caribbean flair. The portion size was also quite generous as we received 6(!) ribs for the 1:3 size that cost $10. This is what I expected a half slab to be. We were extremely happy with this! - Chicago BBQ: Decent. The ribs are quite fatty and fall or the bone. I would equate this to like Barnellis ribs. They're tender and BBQ-ey but nothing extraordinary. I would eat them again though. At $8 for 3 ribs, I'd go for Rasta's. - Texas Lightning: Ew. Ew. Ew. Complete regret for this one. So glad we got a sampler because I think I would have shed a tear if we bought a full slab. High expectations for the Texans but they failed to deliver. The ribs were extremely dry, flaky, and flavorless. It was like someone microwaved a slab of ribs and drizzled some sauce over it. The Jamaican Pork at Rasta's was pretty good too! Good spices. We would definitely give Rasta's an A++ for their ribs. The carnival itself looked fun but also very expensive. Overall, it was a decent event with live music and booze.

Another long overdue review: It was my 2nd year in a row going here and I came back determined to…read moretry the ribs I remember liking so much last time! Me, my cousin, niece and nephew went here on a Thursday around 7pm. Chicago BBQ company: we tried their Beef brisket, Pulled pork, Cornbread and Half slab ribs(unfortunately it wasn't fall-off-the-bone like at Ribfest Chicago, beef brisket seems like pulled pork) Uncle Bob's: we tried 1/2 slab ribs, Pulled pork, Beef brisket, and Cornbread( didn't measure up to Chicago BBQ company) Howling coyote: we tried 1/2 slab rib dinner(they claimed their ribs are more tender than a mother's love! It was tender but Chicago BBQ had more flavor) Rasta joes: tried their 1/2 slab ribs and Jalapeno cheese cornbread (had flavor like Chicago BBQ but not as tender as howling coyote) Porky chicks BBQ: we tried the Big porky- had most meat and very tender and they gave generous portions, sauces were good too!

Great community event every year. Entertainment, carnival,…read moregames and food make this a fun event for all ages. School Of Rock Glenbrook Show Team rocked it on stage.

We went on a Saturday afternoon too see our granddaughter perform with the Glenbrook School of…read moreRock. It was not too crowded but parking was still a challenge. Mainly street parking so prepare to walk! There was no admission to attend. This is your typical community festival offering local foods and entertainment in addition to the typical carnival foods and rides. Prices are higher than other local festivals but it's a great way to bring the community together for 5 days!

This is my second year attending/working Great Lakes Brew Fest and Curt Foreman and his crew are…read moreawesome! The only thing I could see for improvement is more help checking in the beer vendors, other than that the venue at the Racine Zoo is beautiful, there are plenty of bathrooms available and more than enough beer and food to make your day last! It is a well organized event and I would highly recommend craftbeer lover's attend in 2014. There are so many great breweries that it is hard to list them all.

As far as brew fests go, this one is ok. There are a decent number of breweries, but not many new…read moreor unique beers. Brewers also tend to run out of any new and interesting beers they brought early on, so you need to find out the beer list ahead of time and plan accordingly. The fest takes place at the Racine Zoo along the lake, which is a nice setting. If you don't get to try a lot of micro brews or don't get to many brew fests, then you'll appreciate this event.