Me? In Elgin? While a bit out of my "neck of the woods", I had tickets to see Night Ranger and Boston there so off I went on a recent Friday night.
Located adjacent to the Grand Victoria Casino, the concert grounds at Festival Park while not fancy, were certainly functional and made for a fun night outside listening to music.
Given I had never been here before, I bought a lawn seat and was amazed that the sound and sightlines were as good as they were. There is reserved seating up front, but know that they are basically wooden collapsible chairs and they tie them together so you are pretty close to the person next to you. My advice? Go for the lawn seats, pay less and sit in the comfort of your own chair . . .but that's just me.
The people who work here as well as the police were so nice and helpful, it was like being in a small town. They helped me figure out where I was supposed to be even after I walked in the wrong entrance.
And my fellow concert goers couldn't have been nicer. I was trying to hold a large space given I got there before my friends and I had pretty much everyone around me helping me hold down the space! Where does that happen??
The food is decent (and decently priced) as were the beers. There are tons of porta potties which are pretty clean, and there was even soap and paper towels in the portable sink areas.
If I had a wish, it would be that there would be large screens so see the concert on for those people who are way in the back. But the good news is that music can be enjoyed even if you can't see the source.
A couple of tips. If you go and have reserved seats, there is no rush and no line. Go whenever you want. But if you have lawn seats, the line starts forming at 5 for a 6:30 gate open. By 6:30 the line is all the way down the block and around the corner.
If you get there early enough, you can park in the casino lots. But once those are full, go on line and see where the free lots are to park downtown. The police are pretty good about telling you where you can and cannot park.
Finally- follow the police's direction on getting out of the venue. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the entire venue was able to empty and people were leave the area with no traffic jams whatsoever. Don't know how they did that, but was sure happy the plan works!
All in all, a decent place to see an outdoor concert in the summer. read more