It was ok for a suburban festival. We stopped in an hour or so after it kicked off on Friday night…read moreand the crowd was very manageable; it wasn't packed with people, there were lots of spaces to sit, and the booths didn't have unbearable lines. From the side we entered, there were community booths and vendors selling stuff along the way to the food, which must be a purposeful setup to ensure people walk through those businesses. (The food booths are set up closest to River Road, where there isn't any parking available.) I could have done without the booths trying to get you to sign up for windows or chiropractic services, but they were easy enough to ignore. There were a variety of food booths from burgers to Chinese to Mexican and of course lots more. Nothing really called to us, though, so I bought an ear of corn on the cob for me and my kiddo. They have a couple different stages located along the way. There was one that had folks from a local improv group doing some performances, and later the vocal School of Rock. There was another stage with a live band and a surprisingly large number of people dancing. The band was not good, but at least folks were having fun. Taste of Des Plaines is a free festival, and I think even parking is free in the town lots. We parked across the street at a surface lot which had free 90 minute parking. Of course Metra is a great option, since it stops literally right next to the festival. And what I like best is that they don't equire you to buy tickets and then use tickets for food and drink; you simply pay the vendor directly, much less hassle.

This was our first visit to this local street fair which never really hit my radar before for…read morewhatever reason. Probably because I'm a Park Ridge resident and we have our own Taste? Well, that's not really a good reason. Taste of Des Plaines is a great event for the local community with some local vendors able to advertise and offer their products. There's not a ton of stuff, but it's perfect for a taste as the name says. It's held out front of the Des Plaines public library in its plaza and the two adjacent strip malls. The best aspect is that it's laid back and relaxed, and relatively uncrowded with 3 nearby parking garages for relatively easy parking. It was particularly nice that for apparently the second year in a row, they were on a cashless system, so there are no more silly ticket purchases for cash and you just spend with credit card as you go. We had some good food samplings from a local Cuban place, Que Bola, which included a delicious lechon sandwich and a chicken empanada, and we also had a lula meat skewer from Karavan, a local offshoot of Jibek Jolu. A refreshing draft Revolution Anti-Hero beer was a reasonable $7. They also had a couple of band stages and some good quality bands. One stage was used by kiddos from the School of Rock when we meandered by. The main stage featured on this particular Friday evening 3 bands - namely Whiskey Road, the Terry Byrne Band, and local favorite and street fair staple 7th Heaven. It was all good. I'm a fan of this fair and it's easy on the logistics, it's a good time with good street fair quality, and it's very close to home, yaay!

I was so excited to share my Korean culture with my husband and our wedding guests through a…read morebeautiful Paebak Ceremony created by Oh Happy Day at our reception. Everyone on the team was incredibly helpful, the hanboks were stunning, and the MCs that day were simply amazing. The ceremony backdrop and table decor were thoughtfully and beautifully arranged, making for incredible photos that we'll cherish forever. Throughout the ceremony, they took the time to explain the traditions, which helped our guests fully appreciate and connect with this special tribute to my heritage. Guests have been talking about it for weeks! We're already looking forward to working with Oh Happy Day again for other important Korean celebrations, like our future children's 100 Day Celebration. We can't recommend them enough!

Amazing experience! Kris and Helene did an amazing job. Stress free for us and our family. They…read morebrought everything that was needed, you just need to bring yourself. The whole experience felt authentic.

Carla and Tina provided dance lessons and a bit of Polynesian culture education. They were great…read more Our guests loved them. Suggest you bring brochures with for folks who want more info.

I first fell in love with Hawaiian culture the first time I saw the Barefoot Hawaiian dancers…read moreperform at the Tiki Terrace restaurant. I was so impressed with the dancing and the colorful costumes that I looked at their website and found they offered dancing classes, plus the classes were very affordable. The school is located in Des Plaines and have two Dance Studios. They also have a Hawaiian store that sell an extensive collection of Hawaiian shirts and dresses; as well as all things Polynesian. The classes are separated by Women's, Men's, and Children's dance classes, and they also offer Ukalele and Polynesian drum classes; as well as Fire knife Dancing for men. Shortly after seeing the Barefoot Hawaiian dancers perform at Tiki Terrace, I enrolled in their Kane (men's class) Dance class every Monday night. The owner and instructor Gwen Keneddy was very nice and patient and really knew her Polynesian culture. The classes were taught in a fun and safe environment, and I learned allot of the dances in a short amount of time. After a few weeks of taking classes, I was invited to perform with the Barefoot Hawaiian dancers at local outdoor events and parades, while pretending to be a Hawaiian native. Lol. The school provided the materials to make the Polynesian costumes, and we paid and assembled the costumes ourselves with help from the more experienced older girls (or the Hula Nazis, as they were nicknamed). I have been with this Dance troop a little under two years before I decided to retire from dancing, but overall, I enjoyed this part of my life. I will never forget the people I met and befriended during my time with Barefoot Hawaiian; it was like joining a member of a large Hawaiian family and Gwen was our mother. If you have an appreciation of Polynesian culture; I suggest you enroll in their dance, Ukalele or drum classes. You will come out with a more appreciation of Polynesian culture, and walk away with a new family. The classes are held one day a week, during the evening, and a normal semester is 8 weeks and only $10 per class.

We recently attended a wedding reception at a nearby forest preserve that used the services of A…read moreTouch of Elegance. Needless to say, it was an enjoyable experience! The meals came from someone else, but the orderly fashion it was presented and served was duly noted. That goes double for the drink line as well; I ordered non-alcoholic drinks and still felt appreciated. Kudos to the two sisters and Diane D. who worked the event! A Touch of Elegance definitely showed a touch of class!.

A Touch of Elegance was nothing but a disappointment by Denise (Owner) our event executer…read more When reading this review, please realize this was written to help other brides and people who deserve an amazing event planner/executor for their special day. We hired a Touch of Elegance to ONLY execute our designs for our wedding in September 2019. I (The Bride) worked with the owner herself, Denise, who agreed to take on this project. I gave her specific details and instructions on how I wanted key aspects of my wedding to come together which included: putting up a photo backdrop which I designed, placing all tent cards in order on the backdrop, assisting with gathering family members for pictures during cocktail hour, making sure the banquet hall was ready (table numbers, reserved seating, guest gifts) for photography before guests arrive, setting up the memory table, the autograph table, and placing signage. We also had a surprise swing dance number for our guests and I had a dress change, so that is the only thing that she helped us with correctly. Please see the images attached regarding how each part was executed INCORRECTLY as there was not enough room to write it all here sadly. We gave Denise a Call regarding feedback Being the "Hospitality Power Couple" (name given by our family and friends) and myself for receiving a degree in graphic design and hospitality, we were EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED. Learning of some of the issues during our wedding, after our wedding, learning much more from family friends, and the staff of our hotel venue about Denise was hard to take in. Unfortunately, we had to call Denise to ask how she felt our wedding day went as we wanted to hear her side of the story. The best way to sum up the call would be that it showed us who Denise really is. She kept telling us "She DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH TIME". Our first thought was, if you did not leave yourself enough time, why not bring in more of your staff to help you. We placed our trust and faith in her as she reassured us many times everything will be wonderful on our wedding day since we were over organized and too detailed, but it shows that no matter how OCD you may be, it can still be executed WRONG. With Denise knowing all this taking place during our wedding, we feel we wasted our money as we never planned to have an event planner execute our designs but my now husband convinced me that she was worth it. Sadly, we were wrong, and we paid for it as we DID NOT RECEIVE A REFUND from Denise. From one business owner to another (founder of my graphic design company and a nonprofit), I was also DISAPPOINTED that she DID NOT CARE TO CALL us for our feedback. I had to reach out to her to set up a call. As an owner, I would want my clients to be honest with me about my work, my work ethic, and how I am as person when working with clients. I am always trying to be better for my clients, and I hope she does the same going forward because I will never recommend her to family or friends after this experience. I hope Denise learns from our wedding on how not to treat people and their guests when hosting an event. My biggest hope is that she does not cause any of these problems for anyone else's event going forward as no one needs more stress on a big day like their wedding or any special event for that matter.

Swetal and team helped make our fairytale wedding a success! They were incredibly easy to work with…read morethroughout the entire process, inclusive of providing budget friendly recommendations of how to dress up our space for the sangeet, ceremony, and reception. Swetal was also accessible in convenient ways -- I knew if I texted or e-mailed her, I wouldn't have to worry about constantly having to follow up to get an answer. We received numerous compliments on our wedding decor, and I would definitely recommend working with this team!

Swetal and her team did an amazing job for a last minute engagement party! She was helpful and…read moreworked within our budget to create this beautiful stage within 1 week.

What a fun performer. I came across him at the Park Ridge Kiwanis annual pancake breakfast, where…read morehe was doing some entertaining mostly for the kids but definitely for the adults as well. It's through him that I heard of the Central Street Busker Festival that took place the next day and his line was loooong! Most recently, we went to his show last week that the Mt. Prospect Public Library held for spring break. That was very very well attended, with a long line of folks waiting to get in (and that's with all of us registered to attend!), but the show was a lot of fun. He did a little magic, a little comedy, and some fun balloon tricks. This guy has been doing this all his adult life--unless that's also a joke and part of his act--but regardless, he's great at his job. I'm looking forward to seeing him again and my little one having the chance to pick her balloon creation on her own.

Smarty Pants was fantastic at our recent event AND each and every time I've seen him perform over…read morethe years - which is many times (because many people see how amazing he is)!! It's not just his talent with super fun and surprising balloon characters but his adaptive nature and outstanding personality, engaging everyone at the parties/events. I would absolutely recommend him for all types of occasions : private or big birthday parties, festivals, block parties, - anywhere there will be children!! He is one less thing at your party you need to worry about because he is a sure thing! Truly, he is a whole family favorite!!

Had a great time at Funtopia with my kids. So many climbing walls, it was a good time (especially…read morethe Christmas theme for the winter). I had the chance to check out their party rooms as they were running kind of a family open house for their Christmas time. Lots of fun challenges for the kids as they put snowflakes and cookies on the climbing walls for kids to collect for a prize. They had a food buffet showcasing some of their food options pizza, pizza puffs, meatballs, chicken tenders. Salad and hot chocolate. The staff was super friendly and good with the kids. We had a great time. The party space accommodates several groups at the same time.

Great variety of activities for all ages. Plus, there are tables for parents to hang out or work…read more Free wifi!

G & G Party Decor made our February 2026 Fundraising gala a complete success. From the decor on…read morethe stage, to entrance experiences were perfect! Thank you, Lily!

G&G Party Decor created a beautiful red, white, and blue patriotic balloon setup for our Navy…read moregraduation, complete with American flags and star bursts. The owner, Lili, was timely, professional, and incredibly easy to work with. I gave her a simple idea, and she brought it to life and embellished it beautifully. Made for a wonderful photo backdrop! Highly recommend!