My sister hosted my baby shower here over the weekend, and it was seriously PERFECT. Such a…read morebeautiful venue, very spacious inside, very reasonable pricing and everything was in pristine condition! (Picture perfect)! I believe booking was a breeze (according to my mother and sister) and the owner was incredibly helpful, friendly, answered all of their questions and checked in on us prior to when the event started and afterwards! I love how you're able to bring your own food and drinks (non alcoholic - but they do have a bar area that can be rented), and supply you with tables, chairs, tablecloths and black chair covers. This was such a beautiful experience and I know we will be renting this place in future for other events!

My Niece had her wedding here on 8/15/2021 and what amazing owners.. it wasn't even the owner job…read moreto take care of our family.. But when I say Team work Mrs Linda knows how to handle business.. She and Staff are very professional and gets the job done.. If you're looking to rent a awesome place to have your event dnt hesitate to reach out to Mrs Linda you want be disappointed... I'm here visiting from Ms and was it worth it Yes yes yes .. Mrs Linda Thank You Thank You and Staff

Booked a class on a Sunday for Valentines Day and loved it!…read more We had Urszula as our instructor and she did not disappoint. She has a great sense of pacing and gives participants autonomy to express their own touches to pieces. She gave me really helpful pointers as it was my first time doing a class and I loved how she demonstrated on her own plate to show me how to blend colors if I wanted to and did not simply do it for me. If you are 21+, they are very accommodating with BYOB providing ice, glasses, and OJ for mimosas! Whether it's a group of friends, galentines, or date night, I highly recommend giving this place a try!

My friend and I had so much fun painting at their Fluorescent Friday/Blacklight: Midnight Glow…read moreevent! Our instructor was really sweet and gave us helpful suggestions to improve our paintings. The owner was super friendly too! I loved how he shared some history about the building. He said Al Capone produced bootlegged alcohol there, and that a burn mark on one of the wooden beams is actually from that time! I thought that was so interesting. He also did a mini trivia game, and the winner got one of the instructor's paintings. I won! I got a really cool painting that's now displayed on my bookshelf. I loved the overall atmosphere and how friendly everyone was at this location. My friend and I are already planning to come back to try another painting style!

This is one of the best tours I've ever been to. It was magical and the owner is so generous to…read moreopen up the home to the public We were enthralled with the fantastic wonders that exist here. It's 3 hours and worth every minute The less you know the better. It's a fantastic surprise once you've entered into this excellent experience

The Sanfilippo Foundation (de la musique) has limited tours of their beautiful and amazing estate…read more It's located in Barrington Hills on over 57 acres. The 52,000 sq. ft Tudor style home has so many unique musical, one of a kind and ornate items that you really have to see to believe! We went on the tour yesterday and it was really enjoyable. They have so many historical Calliope's from Europe and US on the premises. Also many other items including Tiffany lamps, steam trains/engines, a perfume museum and a restored carousel in its own building that is really something to see! It's truly a fascinating tour and very tastefully done. They only collected the very best top of the line pieces for the collection. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. Pictures and reviews really don't do this place justice. You need to go and see everything for yourself! It's definitely worth it and you'll leave feeling dazzled!

This art festival takes place in Schaumburg on the grounds of the Al Larson Prairie Center for the…read moreArts. It's a festival that has vendors ranging from the more arts and crafts end of the spectrum to fine art. There were lots of different categories of art represented, including photography, painting, jewelry, and then of course different forms within each category of art such as oil, paintings, watercolor, etc. There were crafts, including handmade hats, knit and felted items and other textiles and fiber art. There were folks selling soaps, a booth was selling plants and moss art, and a couple booths selling fudge and another selling cookies and baked goods. They had quite a few food trucks as well, at least half a dozen of different types, so a little bit of something for everybody. It was pretty extensive. At first glance when you come through the main entrance, it seems it's just a few booths that they have use their parking lot to host, but it goes all the way towards the back of the building down by the little pond and the grassy area. There were well over 100 artists showcasing their works here. They had a local blacksmith here with an outdoor forge both selling and demoing, and per their booth they also host classes if you are interested in learning how to forge metal here in the suburbs. Inside the art center building, they had cocktails and wine and alcoholic beverages. I believe they also had children's activities, but I'm not sure where those may have been. They had at least two spots with musicians, as we passed by someone playing a steel drum and then in another area saw someone playing the hammered dulcimer as well. Parking--at least this year--was directly across the street at the school district building, though it's possible that's not typical (I thought I saw some reference to construction changing the parking situation). There were Schaumburg police officers directing traffic to allow people to safely cross the road at various intervals. We went early to avoid crowds and to have the easiest time with parking and were successful on both counts, and were here about an hour. I really liked that this art fair is a bit more of a home grown fair and not one of the ones from local production company, since I see some of the same artists at those ones and I like that none of the artists I saw today were familiar.

There's always a lot going on here at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts. I've been there…read morefor a couple of musical productions. The quality of the performances was always very high. The stage can be rented out by local theater companies to be used for their production. Outside of the building is a bandshell where concerts are help during the summer. One the day that my husband and I were there, there were people taking wedding pictures and quincenera pictures on the grounds in front of the pond that is there. There are also sculptures and art on the ground to be seen and take pictures of. I highly recommend the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts.

So we did this while out in Schaumburg, having gone to Enterrium and then axe throwing. THIS was…read moreHILARIOUS. So my husband and I are both 47 yrs old. The oldest folks there. There were youngsters taking the selfie game to the next level. Dressed up. Taking their time for the perfect shot. We are Gen X. That said, we just quickly went through each "scene" and took photos and then edited later. We had so much fun and were maybe there for 30 min. You pay the fee, they give you a ring light and a little remote thing and you use your phone. It's so easy and so fun! No matter what age you are - grab a bunch of friends and do this. The photos turned out great and we had tons of great memories and laughs!

This adorable studio is nestled within Streets of Woodfield and is just a hidden gem experience…read more We came in on a Thursday afternoon and had the entire studio to ourselves for a good hour! The associate at the front desk was super enthusiastic, friendly, and amazing. She guided us through the experience and how everything works. She set the tone by being very high energy, fun and helpful. The neat thing about this studio is that it's not just having your friends take photos of you in front of different backdrops.... It's actually having your friends be in the photos too!!! There is actual equipment such as a camera stand, enhanced lighting, and a clicker button provided to you which helps you take the photos. You can literally take as many photos as you want in an hour, and all these photos are taken with your own phone!! The backdrops are gorgeous, detailed and just so much fun. There was over 20 backdrops to choose from. We genuinely had as much fun exploring the different backdrops as we did taking the photos. We felt very safe in the studio. The associate wore a mask when she interacted with us and was constantly cleaning and sanitizing. All back drops were tidy and neat as can be. They even have changing rooms here!? No detail is overlooked The photos definitely speak for themselves and what a great value to get so many photos and have so much fun. Definitely recommend this as a fun afternoon date or activity with friends in the area.

They make amazing shows. Just had a great time watching comedy dance recently. Love them!read more

I went to see the Elgin Symphony Orchestra play a great Star Wars program a few days ago. Although…read morethere seem like a really long will-call line to get into the theater, the process went quite quickly, and there are plenty of ushers to get to our seats. There's not a bad seat in the house, and the sound system is set up really well. I highly recommend going to a concert there and supporting a great local orchestra! Plus, it's right next to the river and the beautiful Riverwalk, which is a nice pre-or post concert activity.

This was a fantastic art fair! Apparently St. Charles has hosted this event for almost three…read moredecades, but I don't think I've ever heard of it before--even when I lived here for a brief period, just a few blocks away. But luckily I learned about it now; it takes place every year on Memorial Day weekend. It's going on my calendar to visit annually. This festival is a juried show, so all the artists are of really high caliber. You'll find just about every genre represented here. I didn't actually come intending to spend any money, but the joke was on me and I happily parted with some cash. I bought a few pieces of garden art from two different booths. One artist named Debbie Radke makes outdoor art pieces made primarily of copper, sometimes with glass balls or beads or other ornamentation included, and I found of hers I like; the next door booth also had pieces for outdoors, and I got a few pieces of blown glass art that along with the copper piece will look lovely in my yard. A jeweler who was exhibiting had some really unique pieces that were double sided. Not all of them, but a good number. You know how when you wear a necklace it often gets flipped around? Well, Eye Candy by Amy (@eyecandybyamy--check her out) makes some pieces that can be worn either way. Really so cool, something I've never seen before. I bought a different piece from her but will be keeping an eye on her insta for what other creations she comes up with. If only I had an unlimited bank account I could have continued buying. There was an artist whose medium is watercolor felting; another who does something called pulp painting; painting on birch bark; a chair maker; an artist who makes hinged rings that will fit over arthritic knuckles. And of course those are just the more unusual of the art. There was no entrance fee to the show, which was nice. They had an activity area where kids could create, and there was also a demo going on nearby--when we were here, there was a woman on a loom, and I don't think I've ever actually seen anyone use a loom before. They also have a car that people can paint, and there was a little boy who was having a blast doing just that. They had some partnership with the Arcada Theatre called "Artcada", where if you spent $350 or more you could visit the Information booth and claim a voucher for tickets to a show at the Arcada. And something I thought was especially cool was that they had free reusable bottles of water (they are in aluminum bottles, so reusable) that has as the label a painting by a local student. Really cool and clever idea (and they had a water refill station, and even a water bowl set out for the pups wandering round). Parking is okay; though we had to go around a couple times we found a spot in the city parking complex about a block away and it was free. There's also street parking around.

It's a wonderful way to spend time outdoors and enjoy different types of art. Wide price range…read morewhich works out great! We come every year!

There are/have been several mini Renaissance and fantasy festivals at Vasa Park over the recent…read moreyears, and Faeries of the Forest strikes a nice balance of "enough but not too much". It's not too expensive to get in; there are a variety of vendors selling everything from art to jewelry to tea to tarot readings; there was an array of musicians including the Harp Twins and the Secrets of the Beehive. It was also fun that lots of people were dressed in costumes/garb! Overall, a lot of whimsical fun; would return!