The city of Aurora did an excellent job pulling off their first ever Harry Potter Festival!…read more Tickets: This was a ticketed event ($3 cash per ticket - max 5 per person) and required in-person purchase several months prior to the actual event. Even though I arrived a few hours after the ticket purchase start time, I only stood in line for about an hour to get mine. A lot of people had complaints, but it honestly wasn't bad, especially given all of the publicity! The festival itself: They planned it out very well and had multiple events and activities, most kid-focused and friendly, but good for older fans too. Activities included a quidditch workshop, spell book creation, Ollivander's wands (x2), a potions lab, mocktail creations, Herbology, how to plant a Whomping Willow, Care of Magical Creatures, a self-guided Horcrux Hunt, Quiddich playing a, costume parade, a ride on the Hogwarts Express. Finally, there were multiple vendors in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade! Many of the activities required online preregistration, though many crafting events were free and just required you to stand in the queue. It was spaced out enough that the crowds were manageable and the lines weren't too long. Goods vendors in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade included bath bombs (including a House Reveal version - cool!), jewelry, bags, paintings, plants, wall decor, and much more! Everything was really cute and went along with the Harry Potter/Hogwarts theme. There were a few food and butter beer vendors, including 4-packs of bottled butter beer. A lot of the local businesses also got into the spirit of the festival and decorated their storefronts. I spied Wayne and Garth (20th anniversary of Wayne's World!) sporting Hogwars hats - cute! The local Paramount theatre offered four Harry Potter movie showings for $1 apiece, had Harry Potter-themed drinks and candy, and had an awesome 9 3/4 platform in their lobby! Security (and Aurora PD) was posted throughout the event and were friendly and helpful. Port-o-Johns were plentiful and stocked with hand sanitizer. By 2pm, garbage cans were overflowing.. so that's something they can keep an eye on next time. Great job on a really well thought out and organized event, Aurora!

Aurora's inaugural 2017 Harry Potter festival was a hit…read more There was plenty to do and see, and the overall vibe from all of the attendees was overwhelmingly positive, especially considering nothing like this has been held in Aurora before. The Quidditch pitch hosted tons of kids playing Quidditch which was tons of fun to watch. Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade showcased tons of local, themed vendors that had lots of cool trinkets and souvenirs to buy. There were tons of fun classes to sign up for and take part in, like Herbology, Potions, and Magical Mocktails. It was also great to see a lot of the local businesses, closed or not, decorate their windows or host themed events related to the event, which definitely added to the overall spirit of the day. Best of all, eagle-eyed visitors spotted a number of subtle decorations that showed that there were true Harry Potter fans behind this event, including a "2nd Triwizard Task Vieweing Area" (overlooking the Fox River), Tom Riddle's grave, and all 7 horcruxes to hunt and find, each with a clever clue that led to the next. I can't wait until next year's event. I'm sure it's going to be even better!

Elburn Days is not just a fest, it's an entire community stopping to celebrate and take some time…read morefrom the every day norm to let loose. You can take the train, drive straight in on 38, or shoot down 47. There's plenty of parking all around the city, and even if you walk around town, which there are some quaint shops and bars to eat... AND DON'T FORGET REAMS!, you aren;t far from the fest. Highly recommend a visit, you won' be disappointed.

This year was my first time at the Sandwich county fair. We arrived at about 4:30/5 pm on Sunday…read morewhich was the last day. Usually it costs $9 bucks to get in, but we only paid $4 or $5. I thought that was nice that we only had to pay a portion rather than the full amount. As soon as you walk in there was bunnies to the left absolutely the cutest bunnies!!! There was one called a lion head which was definitely my favorite. The to the right they had lambs, sheep, dairy cows, calves. There was a hen house and also a petting zoo. Within the fair as well. I absolutely love animals. I wish they could all be in their natural habitat rather than be put on a show for people. It's pretty sad. That's why I don't really go to the zoo anymore. They offer plenty of rides and games for kids and families to enjoy! They're all grouped together so you don't have to run all over the place to get on the next ride. That was over crowded. We didn't even attempt it. They have food places all over the place. The sweet corn was amazing! So were the BCR fries from the beach shack place. They were bacon ranch fries that were super flame!!!! I want them right now actually hhaha. Overall, it's a nice day out with the family and I would recommend it. It's a hike from the Chicago area, but getting out of the city and nearby suburbs is always nice.

I went in the past but I thought it was going to be huge. It was definitely not as big as I had…read morethought. If you come later in the afternoon or evening, you'll be parking far from the entrance. That's if you go on a Fri or Saturday. They had different kinds of animals to look at. Food is your typical fair food. I didn't want to eat fried food all the time, so it was nice to see some pierogis in the mix. They do have some shows going on, you'll have to look at the schedule to see if anything interests you. We probably only spent a couple hours here at the max.

Very fun time, family friendly entertainment. Over 200 cars and trucks on display this year. DJ Ron…read moreReiner playing classic rock and country hits. 50 50 raffle, beer garden, live music, fireworks, DJ, lots of horse power!

From the owner: Maple Park Fun Fest is a classic small town festival geared for big time entertainment. It occurs…read moreover Labor Day Weekend and brings live music, craft show, car show, parade, Fire Department water fights, food vendors, 5K run/2 mile walk, bags tournament, a spectacular fireworks show and much more.

Worst Oktoberfest I've ever attended. Right next to the train station, deafening train horns were…read moreblaring through every 15-30 minutes. Every single person was sweating due to zero ventilation in the tent that smelled like a giant armpit. The food line was incredibly inefficient. 5 people back, the wait was at least 20 minutes for food, then you have to go across the stifling tent to get a drink. Why can't they be in the same location. 2 brats, 2 sides, 12 oz beer & 1 bottle water was $30 flat. I was so hot, I wasn't hungry. The best part: live music? Nope. Canned and piped through speakers. You've been warned.

I went on a Sunday looking for some good German affair. I was greeted by warm temperatures,…read moreannoying train horns and extremely long wait times for no reason at all. The concept of one lady working the cash register while taking your orders was extremely inefficient. Waiting 20 minutes in a line of about 10 people is ridiculous. Skip this and seek out other Oktoberfest locations for your own sanity.

North Aurora days - 2015 - I met my wife!! This will always hold special memories for us!read more

North Aurora Days was a LOT smaller than I expected! It's held in the parking lot of a single strip…read moremall off of Randall and Oak Streets (where the Super Wash is). FOOD: There was a beer tent and 6 food vendors: 1 BBQ, 1 Tacos, 1 fried foods, 1 corn, 1 Italian Ice, and an Oberweis Dairy ice cream truck. I found food prices to be REALLY steep: I paid $15 for a 6" corn dog and dry cheese curds that had been sitting under a warmer. ENTERTAINMENT: In the evening there were only carnival games (4), a tall slide, and a bouncy castle, and a stage with live music. During the day there are specific events (garage sale, book sale, 5k). People set up lawn chairs, so note you can bring those. Most went "parade style" and set them up en masse to claim spots, and then left elsewhere. Overall? Meh. Very underwhelming, at least in terms of attending Saturday evening. I suppose it's halfway decent if you live in the neighborhood and just want to chill and listen to music with your family and neighbors.

July 2014 marked the 43rd year for the Aurora Puerto Rican Heritage Festival. I love going to fests…read moreof all kinds in different towns and I must admit...this was one of the best I've been to. The Puerto Rican Heritage Fest is in downtown Aurora at the River Edge Park. They couldn't have picked a better location. For one, the park is fairly new and absolutely beautiful. Two, parking was extremely easy--only $1.50 in the metra parking lot and it is right across the street from the fest. And three, they have a huge stage with seating for live bands. The festivities last two days, Saturday and Sunday, and kick off with the Puerto Rican Parade at noon. The parade itself is located in the streets of downtown near City Hall. After that, everyone walks/drives over to River Edge. It's only $5 to get in! Not bad. As soon as you're past security, it's like you're actually in Puerto Rico. The smell of delicious fried foods, red white and blue flags every where, and loud music that makes you want to stop and dance with someone. I was in heaven! First thing to do at any fest is head to liquor booths. There were pina colada and daquiri booths every where, so I picked the first one I came to. "These have rum in them right?" "No, you have to go get drink tickets at a different stand and they only sell mikes hard and beer." WHAT!? How are you gonna have all these drink stands and no booze? Not too big of a deal, but that's definitely a recommendation I would make for next year. So I grabbed a Mikes hard. It was $4 but that's typical at any fest. Next I went to all the booths where they sold puerto rican jewelry, flags, clothes, art work, anything you could imagine. It was much like Guavate, Puerto Rico. Shops everywhere but many of them selling the same stuff. I got a great flag, only $3 bucks, and a festival t-shirt, only $15 bucks. The prices were very reasonable. Keep in mind...many of the vendors only spoke Spanish. Now for the food...by far the best part of the fest! Anything I could possibly get my hands on and eat...I did. There were multiple food vendors. Again, many of them selling the same type of foods, but some times the way they make it varies (such as the beans different vendors use. And yes, the type of bean you use when making Puerto Rican food matters!!) All together, I spent only $26 bucks on food and you would not believe me if I showed you just how much food $26 bucks got me! I got two empanadillas (fried meat pies), a huge portion of lechon (pulled pork), a fried plantain, one giant rellenos de papa (fried potato ball with ground beef inside), habichuelas guisadas (pink beans with wonderful seasoned sauce), and arroz con gandules (yellow rice and gandules)! We also ordered the bacalaitos (cod fritters), alcapurria (corn fritter stuffed with ground beef), and a pastele. The pastele, however, was the only thing that was not good! It was complete mush. Everything else was AMAZING!! They also sold pinchos, sorrulitos de maiz (sweet corn fritters), mozzarepa (corn pancake stuffed with mozzarella), and funnel cakes...so many different kinds of funnel cakes like red velvet! Mmmm.... This fest is seriously a great time. The people are so beautiful and friendly (seriously every person working the fest was just so happy to be there, really friendly and helpful). The music was fun, the puerto rican souvenirs were well priced, and the food was cheap and DELICIOUS!! I can't wait for next years fest!

Great juried art and crafts show. Very nice area to have a show and many people attend because it…read moreis held on 3rd street in Geneva where there are a lot of places to eat. Don't miss it. You'll be sorry if you do!

Enjoyed the annual Art Fair. Lots of new artists and a wide variety of art styles.The weather was…read moreperfect and Geneva is the perfect setting for such a great event.Cannot wait for next year!

Cottages in the Woods is one of 3 events held yearly in Good Templar Park in Geneva Illinois…read more The Swedish cottages or little houses are open during this event offering a variety of wares plus there is a bakery selling Swedish delights. There were homemade items as well as vintage items,pottery, jewelry,art and more. Parking is free. There was a 10.00 per person admission.

I have always been curious about these historic Swedish cottages in Geneva at Good Templar Park and…read moreI finally had the opportunity to see them during this wonderful fall festival. Each cottage that was open had hand made crafts available for purchase. It is a wonderful place to find special gifts. My husband especially enjoyed the bakery cottage where he got two Swedish special cakes, one with lingonberry and whipped cream and the other Hummingbird cake with cream cheese frosting. They also had a BBQ food truck. There are three festivals held here per year in the spring, summer and fall. Definitely worth checking out.