Place was packed from one side to the other, vendors everywhere, good food, reasonable prices. Lots…read moreto see although most of the shops were mostly leaning toward women. Got to see old cars, wagons, and old farm equipment. I'll probably be back next year.

Well done! 55 years…read more Small town of 7,000 greets 50,000 visitors with expertise and class. Parking is $5 Trolley around town for all day is $3. No admission charges to get into the area. All proceeds go to local charities and agencies. We parked in the local cemetery- people were dying to get into this place! Great food! Lots of walking and talking! Friendly people from all over the world. Also, don't miss the festival on the other side of town near the high school. A great weekend that shouldn't be missed!

Arthur talks a good game, but can't deliver…read more I've heard good things about the Arthur Cheese Festival, so decided to go. They advertise crafts, food, and most importantly...cheese. They do have a cheese tasting, I'll give them that. The "cheese tasting" is taken from giant bricks of cheese, and there are only 2-3 varieties. I had sliced American (seriously), and some blueberry cheese that was far too rich to eat. You are given a generous portion, but it's seriously disappointing. The rest of the food vendors are the same tired county-fair material you can find anywhere. The "shopping" is 99% MLM/pyramid scheme junk. Same goes for their "craft" fairs that they have at various points in the year. There are a couple ladies selling crocheted items, a couple tents with home decor stuff, and one lady selling beaded jewelry. That's it as far as crafts go. The places with the worthwhile items are stores which are open in downtown Arthur. There is no reason to visit a "festival" to see them. The rides advertised on the website were largely absent. It was a waste of an hour.

The prices were super pricy and it is no longer happening. Guess I will try the one in Hoopston or…read moreBloomington.

Year 2 Landmark Review: Well after another year has gone by…read moreand we are now season veterans able to find the free parking lot to park by Black Dog. We came by for lunch and it was not too crowded. After doing a quick walk through I realized that my favorite funnel cake van that raised money for veterans was not present this year. Second I could not find the Yelp tent and realized it was in the VIP section in the concert area. Anyways I returned my focus on the food. This year I felt that the prices were even higher and many of the stands were quite deceptive in pricing as in there was no price for the menu items. If anyone from the Urbana planning counsel is reading this, restaurants should be required to have a menu with prices instead of colorful pictures of food without ticket prices. I believe it was grossly over prices. 12 dollars for chicken kabob and rice. 6 dollars for a plain funnel cake. 5 dollars for a waffle cone ice cream. I didn't even try to get sweet corn as that cost 2-3 bucks an ear last year. Overall this was rather disappointing based on the high price of the food items. I maybe skipping this event next year.

This little known gem is amazing!! Seymour has a huge parade with tons of candy and tractors and…read morefloats. After the parade the Seymour church hosts a FREE carnival for all the kids. They have face painting and games in the church yard. There is a car show at the firehouse then after dark there are fireworks. Thank you Seymour Fire department for hosting this event for our community and Seymour United Methodist church for the fun carnival!!!!

I love this Festival! It's the best pumpkin ice cream around! They give good portions too…read more I always get the pumpkin chili, it's pretty good. There's also a craft fair and carnival.

Great annual community event! Always look forward to the Pumpkin Sweet Shop and Pumpkin Grill…read moregoodies.

Fun small town festival that's also very affordable. You have to have a turkey sandwich (or two -…read morethey're only $4)! They also have bed races and a strawberry shortcake eating contest as well as a race and parade I believe it's usually held the second weekend in June.

SUPER crowded. Booths placed too close together on narrow Beaufort Street!…read moreNeat vendors, Terrible event planners.

Set in gorgeous Uptown Normal this Mid- July festival is a great way to see Midwest artists' work…read more There are food vendors and the local eateries. Live music. Yes, it is very popular and draws large crowds.

Honestly this one's a tossup between 3 and 4 stars. It seems that the Illinois State Fair, compared…read moreto some of the other state fairs, is kind of boring and doesn't offer a lot. Iowa and Minnesota's state fairs have a better selection of foods to offer, for instance. But I think I'll just stick to the positives of Illinois's. The fair does pay great tribute to the Prairie State, like agriculture, dairy and midwestern life. I'm very surprised and glad that Chicago isn't mentioned all that much, although I wish some Chicago foods would be offered at the fair! The buildings and architecture are nice. The Route 66 Experience (which is open year-round) is a must for everybody. No fair visit is complete without checking out the livestock barns as well as going to livestock judging competitions. Oh and I can't leave out the butter sculptures. As far as the entertainment part, they do have a great eclectic mix of cover bands and popular acts performing there. Again, despite of everything that I said - I do think Illinois needs to step up its game and re-define itself as a popular destination. After seeing what Iowa State Fair has to offer, it definitely made Illinois SF look very weak.

Updated review: I came back earlier in the fair to see the animals which was fascinating, with the…read morefamily culture of camping out by the animals and displaying/competing them. This time around I had a hard time tolerating any of the food, everything I tried other than ice cream just did not seem appetizing. It was hot ! Always fun to see the bustling nature of things here, explored the Route 66 and some of the other parks filled with all kinds of activities.