I look forward to the Festival of Fine Craft every year. This year the weather was super funky so I…read moredidn't get the chance to enjoy it as much as I would have liked, but all in all it seemed well organized, the music was enjoyable, and there were lots of umbrella tables to sit at to enjoy the outside food vendors. The only thing I particularly noticed that kind of bummed me out a little was the fact that there was SO MUCH jewelry! This is great for those who wear a lot of it, and I'm certain the North Shore is a wonderful market for this, but I felt like it should have been advertised more as a show with a jewelry focus (honestly, I'm not sure how I would feel if I was a jewelry vendor...lots of competition). I missed the fun folksy painters this year (not that there weren't a few great ones), but it just seemed like the balance of artisans was a bit off (though Port Clinton Art Festival is right around the corner!). Overall the festival was very family-oriented, and they had a section of booths with kids painting projects...I believe hosted by Make-A-Messterpiece in Glenview. I have to say it was also surprisingly quiet when we went late Saturday afternoon, but it's possible the threat of rain kept people away. I still love this festival, as it reminds me that the summer is here, but I hope they consider a broad focus next year. Looking forward to 2014!

One of the best street festivals in Chicago and a must-visit if you like world music and/or ethnic…read morefood! Food vendors were mostly Mexican but there was a great Senegalese food stand too, and everything was reasonably priced. I liked being able to sip a Michelada and listen to cumbia without having to trek down to Pilsen. It never got too crowded, although maybe more people will come next year after reading my glowing review :-) The music was fantastic. They got Gaby Moreno!! and Palenke Soultribe. I also enjoyed the set by Chicago Afrobeat Project. Get on the 22 bus and come up to Rogers Park for this festival!

What an amazing experience to be able to see such beautiful art in a very inviting space.read more

First time attending this art fest, apparently there is a sibling art fest that occurs same time…read morenearby, so technically you could hit two in a day if you were ambitious enough. This particular art fest is a good one in my opinion, because it occupies a good portion of Wells street and has other options to indulge in besides just the art booths. There are many shops, bars and restaurants along Wells to explore. The fest itself does a good job of representing local business with food and drink booths, not all are the same, so pace yourself and find the one that speaks to you. The fest is very dog friendly so bring your pooch. They also do a good job of providing porta potties throughout. There is also a Jeni's ice cream shop on Wells that is always worth stopping in to try a new flavor. I recommend the sampler to share. The day we were there, Michael McDermott was performing, who I had somehow never heard of, and I enjoyed the solid set he and his band provided. Also notable is that the smoke shop on Wells, i.e. cigar store, is the only one in Chicago I have found to date that stocks my smoke, so yeah! It is an eclectic mixed crowd, but you definitely pick up on the young party seen vibe as you stroll along (don't hate;)

First off if you like meat, love beer and great entertainment then you just missed one of the best…read moreevents this year. This was my first time attending the Windy City BBQ Classic which was held at Solider Fields and I already can't wait for next year. This event was better than the Taste of Chicago to me. The price range was $59, $79 and $99 dollars and it was well worth it. It was unlimited Beer, food and dessert. It also included 5 drink tickets for Tito's and Ole Smokey Moonshine. I'm not sure if they have early bird specials for the event but I say don't let the price detour you from checking this event out. The $99 dollar ticket was a Premium ticket the people that had that ticket received their own seating section, pictures, Bloody Mary and an hour early entry into the event. It was so well organized and I didn't see one person that wasn't smiling and saying they were glad that they came to the event. I was a tad disappointed in Tito's because they are usually one of my favorite vodkas but the drinks tasted watered down and I almost hated that I gave up one of my drink tickets. The coolest thing was the cup which I kept to drink my Moonshine. Ole Smokey had these cherry infused Moonshine and now I won't be able to have a regular cherry again. I did also wish it was a few more sides to eat along with meat but that wasn't a big thing it was just a wish...lol I first thought I would still be hungry from the bite size treats of meats but I was more than full after I left the event. I even had a chance to take some of the food with me. I think my favorite BBQ came from Honkey Tonk so tender and seasoned to perfection. I even won a T-Shirt from Big Guy BBQ who had the best rub and boneless rib there. There were so many awesome vendors there and I can't remember all their names but it was few things that I tasted and didn't like. The vendors were so kind and you can tell they were passionate about their food and were glad to share their passion with all the people that were there. We danced to a great DJ which I didn't get his name but I sure wish I had because he was playing a mix of old school and new school that kept us at the booth for awhile dancing with the owners. BB Kings daughter was there singing her butt off and I truly thought I was going to have time to take a few pictures of her performing but I was so busy eating that I missed my chance. They also took time to have several different types of desserts. There was this pumpkin spice shake that was to die for and I'm not even a fan of pumpkin flavored drinks. I didn't think we would stay the entire time but we ended up closing the place down and so did a few others as we danced the night away. Laughing, Full and already Ready for next year! Enjoy!!!

A whole of assortment of different meats to taste, and a few while pigs. And some fantastic drinks…read moretoo. Oh yeah!

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!!

Good fest! Entry fee is $5 recommended but they let you in for $3 as well. We were not carrying…read moreenough cash and they let us (party of 2) for $3. Once inside, there were a few local vendors with rings, hats and clothes. If you like henna tattoos, they had a couple of those. Coming to the ribs, each participant had its own booth. They were long lines at almost each stall. You can also participate in rating the ribs if you would like. Once you are loaded with food and drinks, head over to the back and grab a seat to enjoy some nice local music. Take the dance floor if you like or just groove on the spot.

I really enjoyed the festival. That said, I am not a fan of ribs. I will eat them but they are not…read moresomething I seek out. My biggest gripe is there is no way to eat ribs without having sauce, seasoning or something on your fingers. And, BBQ sauce does not do it for me. But fortunately, this festival offers so much more. For a $5 cover charge, you are granted in and out privileges of the festival which features quite a few food vendors, clothing vendors and two music stages. Not a fan of BBQ, well there were non BBQ vendors there too. My favorite non BBQ vendors were the Acapulco style Piña Coladas and the wood fire corn. Also, an Australian BBQ vendor offered some of the best cornbread I ever had and Shrimp on a Barbie which was incredible. The shrimp was also very reasonably priced ($6 for 9 shrimp). ... I know you are wondering how can you eat all this stuff while standing. Well, there were table and chairs provided by Budweiser and standing only tables for the transient bunch solely looking for a quick spot to eat quickly. The BBQ vendors had their trophies displayed from various competitions and attendees were able to vote for this year's favorite. ****Most companies accepted credit cards and there was an ATM on site.....The only thing missing was towelettes.

Best craft beer fest I've been to in quite some time!…read more Normally when a new beer festival gives it a go, there are some logistical issues and things that need tweaks. Well this was the first time they threw this festival, and I honestly didn't find much to fault them on. Parking was well organized. There was a free parking lot across the street and buses taking people from the parking to the fest. Demographic skewed slightly older but it's to be expected in Glenview. Glenview is my hometown and I had a strong feeling most fest goers would be a bit older than my friend and I. Awesome selection of breweries including many local favorites and others from around the nation, 35 in total. I have a feeling they could get even more breweries on board next year! They could also add some more food vendors for next year. Tickets were $35-50 depending when you purchased them and proceeds went towards supporting The Grove. The Grove was a perfect venue with vendors spread out enough so there wasn't congestion and I never had to deal with lines for beer more than a few people long. I did wish there were more rare beer offerings, but was still happy with the selection. Also, even though the fest went until 10pm, most places ran out of beer at 9pm and they ran out of the good/more rare/fancy beers just a hour in around 8pm. Other good points of the fest is they had ample seating, way more than enough. I've been to so many beer fests were they simple did not provide anywhere to sit and it was torture. The live music was really good with many solid covers being played - everyone was having fun! When it got dark out, they brought out huge lighting - they were well prepared. We actually had volunteers come up and ask us what we thought of the fest, how they could improve, etc. Never have I seen such a thing at a beer fest! Loved, loved, loved this! The Grove Craft Beer & Wine Festival was so well organized, well spread out, great music, great beers, beyond amazing staff and just was a win overall - great value for the ticket. I absolutely will be going next year.

This was the first year we attended the Grove Craft Beer & Wine Festival in Glenview, which…read morehappened this past Friday. My partner purchased a super early bird VIP ticket. The VIP ticket allowed her five extra drink samples -- in addition to the twenty you already got with general admission purchase -- early entry, as well as the ability to park closer to the venue. She bought me the Designated Driver (DD) ticket, which was considerably less expensive and allowed me free water, according to the Grove website. I understand this event is to help support the efforts at the historic Grove location, but the tickets are still exorbitant for what you get, in my opinion. When we first entered, no one bothered to even check if we did indeed have VIP tickets in order to park closer. If we didn't have the tickets, we could have just said we did and gotten in. The volunteers also weren't very good at explaining where they wanted us to go. After parking, there were no signs anywhere that should have directed us to a field across a road from the VIP parking in which we had to pick up our event passes. We had to ask a random person where they got them. At the registration table, the volunteer mistakenly gave me a VIP wristband as well as the three-ounce sampling glass, despite having a DD ticket, I guess because my partner had the VIP ticket and she put both of our tickets on the table together. I didn't quite understand what was happening until after, so didn't question it. I didn't matter as I wasn't drinking. But I essentially got an $85 pass for $20. Tents were set up in the middle of a large field, which is surrounded by woods, where each of the breweries had their samples. What is supposed to happen is that every time you get a sample, the brewery should mark off a punchcard given to you at registration. Except it got so busy that most of the breweries didn't bother with this. This means that the VIP ticket is essentially worthless unless you simply want to park closer. You can drink as much as you want. If you're a vegetarian, make sure you eat before you come. There were four food vendors, and two of them sold bratwurst (Whole Foods offered bratwurst and chicken-and-apple sausage). One had pizza, and another had chicken sliders and chips and salsa. My partner ate chips for a meal because there was nothing else she could eat. Of course, this being late July it was very, very hot. I asked two different volunteers where the DDs were supposed to be able to get free water, and one said there was a water station set up near the tents. Nope, there wasn't. Food vendors were selling water for $1. There was an air conditioned part of the building only VIPs were allowed to enter, where they had tables set up. I guess if you're prone to heat that might be worth paying for. As the sun started to go down it became more crowded. It would be better to come after the sun goes down because it's cooler, but then you have to deal with more people. Also, you REALLY need to bring bug repellent if you plan on staying after dusk. If you plan on going next year, don't bother wasting money on a VIP ticket. Buy general admission, drink as much as you want, and bring bug repellent. It was good to experience as we had never been to the Grove before, but I don't know if we'll bother next year.

Well let me start by saying I attended this event for free so generally it was fine. But...had I…read morepaid for the event I may have been gravely disappointed . First there were not many vendors. The definitely need more food and wine vendors. They also need more activities for patrons while attending. The band was awesome. The free glass was very affordable looking.

Sangria fast was held in Humboldt Park. I was fortunate to win tickets from an Instagram raffle…read more My tickets included VIP passes for 2. I went on a early Sunday afternoon around 2 PM. We were able to find parking nearby for free. Getting into the sangria fast was easy as we were able to scan our codes from evebtbrite. Upon entering we were given our sangria glasses, VIP identification and 5 samples of sangria off the bat. Once we were further into the festival, it was discovered that VIP identification had our punch card for redeeming drink tickets. There were several vendors and attendants including places to try sangria, beer, Goya products. We did get sample some really good white wine out of Italy from a wine tasting company. In addition to the sangria samples there were food vendors, live musicians and artistic items to purchase. After trying some of the samples we headed over to the VIP area which had its own pre-made bar set up. You could only use your VIP punch cards in the VIP area. Both my husband and I tried several different flavors of sangria. We both agreed that the pear was our favorite. A close second was probably the pomegranated or the mango sangria. Overall we had a good time but it may have been hard to justify the price tag for what you get. Just being in that neighborhood I think the regular admission price should be lower or there should be more samples. The view from the park was fantastic, we were able to see a part of the air and water show.