This was the best New Year's Eve Celebration, up close, personal, extraordinary music and…read moreinterviews. Two and 1/2 hours of fun with a variety of performances from Blues to Folk to Chamber and puppetry. The best thing was having two hosts that made you feel like you were in their living room (oh... you were) virtually. Thank you First Night Evanston it was as good as being there. Lynn Orman Weiss and Family

Fin! Fun!fun! Evanston is a great community! Always a fun night at first night! Lots of great…read morepeople

I came here for a Starlight concert and the food truck fest. First of all, parking was decent but…read moreyou definitely had to drive around a bit. The food trucks were a fabulous touch and the food was delicious especially Hummingbird and the Tamales. The park itself was okay - the playground is decent with wood chips which makes it not as little kid friendly. Also, there was a mob of older kids who are jumping off the top of slides and pushing/running into toddlers. We probably won't be back just because of the setup of this park. Also, Expo '76 would be a great band if they started up on time instead of having to wait nearly an hour for them to get started.

Expo '76 is a great band and they're playing at Brummel Park tonight! I'm definitely not going to…read moremiss it. There's supposed to be a Food Truck Fest as well. I would definitely check out events at this park--it's clean, spacious, great for kids.

This was a great celebration! Pride in Park Ridge is a single-evening event, and it lasted three…read morehours. It took place in and around Hodges Park right in front of city hall. There were a bunch of community groups, including schools, LGBTQIA+-focused orgs, local businesses, and so on. There were also about a half dozen food trucks featuring Latin American cuisine, Filipino foods, hot dogs, barbecue.... The main event was the drag show that took place. And it wasn't a short show; it lasted 45-60 minutes. I've never been to a drag show but it was so much fun! There were 3-4 queens performing various songs and they were fantastic. They didn't have a standard stage; they were performing street side, so they had a lot of ground and crowd to cover and it was tiring watching them, haha. They also had a few costume changes (or at least one of them did) which was pretty impressive. In addition to that entertainment there were some kid-friendly activities like a bounce house (or two?), and some arts and crafts tables as well with some children's activities. They had t-shirts for sale as well, with an art deco design this year that was pretty cool so I had to pick one up. I'm looking forward to next year; I just hope they have toddler-sized shirts too!

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.

Provocative and intense... Chicago artists at their best... A community event That stitches…read moretogether the soul of the city!

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.

We'd planned to go to this last year but had to go out of town, and I'm really glad I remembered it…read morethis year. It was fantastic, and I understand why I've heard from more than one person that it's their favorite easter egg hunt to attend! This one is held by the Niles Park District. It's held at Golf View Rec Center/Tam O'Shanter Golf Course. They must have been doing this for a LONG time because it was so well organized and to my eyes everything went off without a hitch. When we arrived, there were folks directing traffic (park district public safety? Niles police?) and there was copious parking, which I'd been concerned about since there's not any street parking available around here. There was a long line to get in when we were arriving and I wasn't sure if we'd actually get in in time, but by the time we walked to the further lot to the entrance of the space where the hunt was held there was no longer a line. Upon entering, we got a bag with a toy in it (this year, at least, it was a bubble dispenser which my daughter is having a ton of fun with). We checked out the egg pen and then I saw that there was face painting, so we went over for that and got some bunny whiskers (well, full bunny face, actually). They also had refreshments, which wasn't much but was welcome, of donut holes, coffee for those who drink it, and capri sun for the kids. My daughter rarely gets juice so she thought she hit the jackpot before the main event even began. For the 1-2 year old pen, at least, it wasn't overly crowded. All the kids got lots of goodies, I think. My own wasn't even moving that fast but she had a basket full of stuff when we got home. She is a fiend for lollipops, of which there were many scattered about, so she was not even interested in the eggs until I was pointing them out. The eggs had things like little toys or stickers in them to complement the candy out and popcorn bags out in the open. Everyone seemed to be having lots of fun, and there was no fighting over any of the stuff. Heading out was easy too. The crowd dispersed pretty quickly after it ended, but there was no problem getting out of the parking lot--no big traffic jam or anything to contend with. The egg scramble is open to both Niles residents and non-residents, though you have to create an account with the park district and you can't register on-site. The cost was under $15 for the event even as a non-resident, so it's one I'd be happy to take my child to in years to come.

I used to ice skate here when I was younger and it's always a fun time. They have 2 ice rinks and…read moreyou can take lessons or have a private party. Back in 5th grade, we used to go there for Friday Night Skating and hold hands with boys... hehehehe. They have an awesome concession stand and they have the BEST food! Love the nachos and churros. Ok I haven't been here since junior high but I know it still exists. I know Centennial has really expanded throughout the years so I am not sure what else is there now. But it's a good place to bring kids to.

Newer modern ice arena...paired with a bunch of tennis nonsense. The sheets are down and to the…read moreleft of the entrance. Ice looked pretty good but I did not skate it. The concession stand fries food and its not ventated adequately....so be prepared to be overwhelmed by the fragrace of old grease when you enter- regardless of them serving food or not.