Interesting art and exhibition enjoyed the atmosphere and would go again. Looking forward to my…read morenext visit.

Always a fun event with music, entertainment, vendors with a variety of items, a few (pricey) but…read moresolid food vendors, and activities for kids; all along our beautiful Evanston lakefront. One year my daughter and I partook of the Zumba class, and they have various demonstrations as well. It's also refreshing to see all of the cultures and the diversity that comprises Evanston. We enjoy browsing for the jewelry, accessories and ethnic items, incense, shea butter, as well as scented oils, candles, and miscellaneous artwork! This is an annual event always in July, and it's usually super hot! If you're a people watcher, it's definitely a nice place to be. People come from all over, and I feel blessed to have grown up here and experienced this event year after year, right in my hometown.

One of the best of the best summer weekend festivals around Chicago. Hungry - choose from around 25…read morelocal vendors; thirsty - no problem; games and rides for the kids - voila!; Music - nearly non-stop - vendors with clothing, crafts, jewelry, toys, beauty items, candles - enjoy. See you next year!

I have not been to Taste of Elmwood for decades and it has not changed. It had several food…read morevendors, at reasonable prices. Everything from Italian, Mexican and American. To purchase alcoholic drinks you are required to get carded and a wristband, regardless of age. Cocktails were good, but a bit pricey for the size. There were music events throughout the fest.

We had a great time at the festival. The Four Star Brass Band (first act of the day) was great…read morefun; FiddleRock is always amazing; and the Gumbo Hurricane was lively and highly enjoyable. It would be nice to have a beer somewhere between IPA and ultra-lite. We went into the bar to get a real beer. A couple interesting vendors, plus the expected promotions. A good time was had by all.

Its not the biggest street fest but it's the unofficial start of summer Memorial Day weekend and…read morethe Belmont Fest is on. Why not? Admission is a donation of $5 per person. Bands on both end and your usual street fest fare of shopping and food. I did enjoy the mangorita. My nephew and my wife also like the footlong corn dog. I do miss the entertainment from the show from Berlin before like 2 years ago. I hope they bring it back

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.

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!

Evanston holds a lot of events throughout the year and with so many of them happening in the…read moresummer, there are many options to choose from. I've gone to a number of them over the years and find Custer Fair to be a top summer destination in the city. During our walk down Main street, Chicago, Washington, and Custer Avenues (this fair covers 4 streets) a few notable things I saw were vendors selling air plants hung from glass containers, vintage Chicago posters, handcrafted jewelry, a caricature artist, cool hand crafted toys for kids and, if you wanted to relax from all the walking, there was a booth that charged for chair massage. The food stalls had a good mix which included typical carnival fair like funnel cakes and corndogs. They also had a Taqueria stall, local craft beer, Pina colada stand, Texas bbq, Gyros, and Soba noodles. With all the savory food and tempting refreshments abound, the real hero on a hot 90 degree day was the lemonade stand. Every refreshing cup of lemonade had a whole half lemon in it. I was able to double my servings of lemonade by squeezing the half lemon and adding water and sugar when I got home afterwards. Bonus! Consider yourself lucky if you've scored a parking spot around the neighborhood. You will need to arrive an hour prior to opening to find a space. Your best bet is to take public transport by taking the Purple line train and get off on the Main Street station. It takes you right there. Pro Tip: Most stalls are cash only establishments with a few taking credit/debit cards. If you forget to bring cash, there is a Chase bank less than a block and a half across from the Main street purple line stop south on Chicago Avenue.

I had the honor to work at one of the food vendors this year. In fact, it was my first time…read moreexploring the "Custer Fair" in Evanston. I was quite impressed by the number and the variety of merchants that participated. I guess the time has changed and we are becoming a cashless society. Many vendors were able to accept credit cards (with a surcharge fee). Nevertheless, the trusty green bucks still would still get you all-inclusive access! There was at least one (1) PNC bank ATM outside the CTA Main Purple Line station for visitors' convenience. The sound quality for the music lineups was decent. Fortunately, our area wasn't bombarded with an excessive volume while the concerts were in session. The tent we set up was near the center stage, and thankfully, we didn't have to "shout" to the customers to ask for their orders. As always, most ladies can have a difficult time getting used to the porta potties. Here's my recommendation: be patient and reserve some energy by going to the nearest grocery/Liquor stores, such as WholeFoods, Target, Trader Joe's, and Binny's to use their facilities. They are not located feet away from the festival, but within walkable distances.

Good times, crazy crowded!…read more Honorable mentions: -Watching people who have been drinking since 11am finally reach their breaking point -too white crew (they played the 90's old school stuff) -Free stuff (La Croix, etc) Not so honorable -$5 donation, I paid it and yet by the time I made it to their 3rd "bouncer" I was getting the evil eye like I was trying to sneak in. -$5 Miller light -mini dogs mixed into the huge crowd. sure they're cute but i'm not sure how safe this is. Words of wisdom: -Go after the sun goes down -BYOB or bring cash -you can hear from pretty much anywhere so don't try THAT hard to get close -Make friends with people who live in the apartments with balconies over looking the fest grounds. They seemed to have a great view and i'm sure cheaper drinks and snacks.

The five star aspect of this festival is a given…read more *Great Neighborhood *Miller Lite, no tickets to purchase them *Great Bands, the same rotating ones that people all of a sudden love to hate on *Top Talent *Great Weather The one star aspects: -Too many strollers -9PM Curfew on Sunday -Too many strollers -Least diverse of all the festivals -Too many strollers This is this festival in a nutshell. Don't get me wrong, I'll be back every Summer, if it sticks, but heed the negatives. And being here is better than watching the disappointing neighborhood baseball team these days. Ay yi yi....

The food and the vibe is amazing!…read more The organizers need to provide more tables and seats. For the size of the event, the few tables they had were not enough definitely.

Fun and vibrant street festival capping off the end of the summer festival season. I grew up in a…read moreheavily Greek neighborhood. It tastes me back to my childhood to enjoy the culture on display and especially the food. The Athena restaurant is a great spot in the area to dine in but every restaurant pretty much has a stand. The platters are pretty amazing. You can smell the grilled meat especially the lamb blocks away. I can honestly eat food like this daily.