2024 Review! This is…read morethe third year my partner and I have been to the Taste of Roselle! The festival is the first weekend in August every year on Friday evening and all day Saturday/Sunday. They have a mix of food vendors, artisan tents, and carnival rides. There is all live music each evening with 3-4 bands rotating timeslots. The entire event spans on Main Street from Park St to Roselle Rd. Each year we have gone, there have been some consistent food vendors but always some new! They always have Doctor Dogs, Italian Pizza Kitchen, and Pollyanna serving beers, seltzers, and some of Lynfred's wines. The first booth we stopped at was Chicago Culinary Kitchen out of Palatine. Their menu offered a variety of BBQ style sandwiches with unique flavors. My partner got the Pit Beef Sandwich ($17). Forewarning, the horseradish sauce did not disappoint on the spice level and meat was tasty! The second booth we stopped at was Aunt Tina's which offers souther style cuisine. They had a "tasting menu" where all items were $6; I got the mac and cheese as well as cornbread fritters. Mac and Cheese was creamy and hit the spot. The cornbread fritters I would pass in next time.

Lots of vendors and good entertainment. Went for the beer and music. The food is super expensive…read morefor what you get in my opinion. I did share a Mexican plate with my wife and it was very good.

My husband and I love Septemberfest! It's one of the most well-run festivals in the area. The best…read morepart is that parking is free and super simple. You park at one of the high schools, and the shuttle will transport you to the festival. Shuttles run so frequently that every time I've gone I've never had to wait for one. The festival also has free admission! The only thing you have to pay for is food, drinks, and games. The concerts are also free to listen to. We come here every year and it's definitely worth the trip. The food options change every year, and we haven't been disappointed yet. Everything is delicious and we get try different cuisines without committing to going to the restaurant.

Returned to Septemberfest 2025. Added more photos. Food tent had more vendors selling food. All the…read morefood was delicious. Ride area was expanded with more rides.

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!

Basically for kids - not adults. Not much food either. Just want what I was expecting at all. Was…read moredying for a corn on the cob - had none.

We have been going to the scarecrow festival on and off for at least 20 years. This years was not…read moreat all like previous years. There are not as many scarecrows as in past years, and they are no longer displayed in the park. They are scattered around town in front of stores and restaurants. The craft fair was half the size it was in the past. In the past the vendors would be from all over the state, many were selling bought items. St. Charles has lots to offer, but this fest could not compare to previous ones.

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!

Super fun and unique event with plenty of drinks and food to choose from at a great venue in the NW…read moreBurbs. What works well: -Addition of cocktails instead of just beer. -80's lounge with great music and more samples. -Maine lobster rolls. Wow! Delicious and filling. -16" of steak on a stick! Heck yes! -The Messengers band was fantastic and fun to sing along with. -Lucha Libre wrestling was a fun add in 2019. -Plenty of parking or access for drop off for Shared rides. -Plenty of restrooms at the site. What can be improved: -Adding some round high boys in the food area would be helpful. They had them near the band in 2018 but absent this year. It's hard to balance food and drink while walking around. This would really be a helpful add. -I don't recall seeing any maps of the layout at the door. Unless I just missed them, this would be helpful too. -More live music would be nice. Overall a fun event worth what you pay for VIP or G.A.

I love the history of Arcada Theatre. It opened in 1926 on Labor Day weekend (their 100th birthday…read moreis coming up!). I remember when I was a kid we went on a tour here and the tour guide talked about a few ghost stories and myths about Al Capone using this place as one of his hiding spots. He took us backstage and in the basement. It was one of the most memorable tours I've ever been on, and probably what triggered my love for historical tours. I used to come here as a kid to see movies too. I have a fond memory of seeing the Wizard of Oz here (which I remember being projected onto a screen), and their old concession stand. Back then, Arcada Theatre was pretty simple and they hadn't yet updated it to be what it is today. Seeing the changes done to it have been a little heartbreaking for me, but I do appreciate that the owner has tried his best to turn it into something fun and still on theme with 1920s vibe. Now, there is a huge focus on live shows and entertainment. It feels like over the past 5 years, the live entertainment here has exploded and become so much more popular than it's ever been. The theater now mostly looks like a concert venue with big stage lights, speakers, and screens. There are also multiple different restaurants on site. It's a little disappointing whenever I see slot machines at a business, especially one with so much history, but oh well. I came here recently because I saw on their website they do a Silent Film series every month and I thought it would be fun to see at a theatre that started out showing silent movies! They were playing The Kid starring Charlie Chaplin. Before the movie, I purchased a box of their popcorn for $6. There was a live organ player called The Phantom that played during the entire movie, which I enjoyed. Overall, the experience was good but during the movie, it started buffering for a couple minutes and when it started up again, you could see the bar at the bottom of the screen to press play lol--it definitely took away from the experience.

The Arcada Theatre is a really cool place to go. It is old and historic in a good way. We were at…read morethe St. Charles History Museum when the docent told my husband and I that you can go in the theatre and ask for a tour. So that's what we did. It was a Tuesday afternoon when we went, so there were no shows going on. We were able to see the performance area, the balcony, and backstage areas. We also got to see the restaurants and bars on the upper levels of the theatre. Around every corner is another historic artifact or interesting thing to see. I can't wait to go back to see a show or eat at one of their restaurants. I highly recommend the Arcada Theatre!

I came here on a Friday evening around 5:40pm. It is perfect timing before it gets packed. No…read moreissues finding free parking and no line getting in. They have a bag check before entry and you can bring 1 sealed water bottle per person. Otherwise, no other outside food/beverage allowed (excluding baby food - see website for details). I was underwhelmed with the ribs this year. They weren't as good as previous years and only one of ribs we got from a vendor was hot/warm. The others were cold.. Parking: free to park in the covered parking lot. Paid parking is available closer to the entrance but honestly not a huge difference as far as walking. I'd recommend parking at the covered lot vs paying if you get there early enough to find spots Admission: there is a $5 admission fee this year (2023), which is new compared to previous years. I'd recommend purchasing it online so you can avoid any extra lines. Washrooms: They don't have nice indoor bathrooms here but do have porter potties available throughout the Ribfest. They also have water and soap outside of the porter potty to wash your hands. Food: Blazin Bronco BBQ - not recommended 3 Bone Sampler: the ribs tasted okay and was cold, not a favorite and the ribs weren't fully off the bone. Coleslaw: the worst coleslaw I've had...not sure if it went bad or something but definitely didn't taste right. Wouldn't recommend. -- Armadillo's BBQ - it's okay 1/3 slab: the ribs were cooked more off the bone but not as warm but off the bone Baked beans: tasty and came out hot -- Texas Outlaw BBQ - good 1/4 rack ($15) - good amount of ribs for sharing..ribs came out warm Coleslaw ($3) - It tasted like normal coleslaw, nothing too special but refreshing to eating with ribs. Not sure if I'll be back next year. It was underwhelming this year and seemed like there were less vendors maybe?