Another year, another Itasca Fest…read more We live minutes from the Itasca border, so getting here is a breeze. And so is parking -- though you do have to be willing to walk a block or two. But downtown Itasca is lovely. I think most people, if they drove through this little village of 8,300 people, would not expect very big happenings. But Itasca Fest is pretty impressive for the size of the town. Free admission, and there's a huge carnival, a big tent set up with plenty of tables for noshing at and a stage with live entertainment, bingo, a rummage sale, educational events for the kids (including interacting with wild animals) and of course plenty of greasy food to go around. Last year, there was a super-cool NASA trailer set up where you could play with various gadgets and learn about life in a spaceship. Honestly, I enjoyed it as much as the kid with us did. Unfortunately, no NASA trailer this year. Still, four stars for a solidly good time nearby and on the cheap.

Considering the majority of my big fat Italian family lives in Itasca, it's shocking that this was…read moremy first time here. And let's be honest, I came for the Bingo. We started here on Sunday night, the last night of the fest. Bingo is run by the Lyons Club and they do a great job of keeping the natives restless while having some personality. The guy working our row was awesome, was so friendly. Cards are 3 for a dollar and my dreams were crushed when I saw they were the sliders and not the stamp kind of cards. I was really looking forward to having a big purple stamper to dot up my cards. Each round of Bingo could win somewhere between $50-$70 but alas, I didn't have any luck. The final round was a cover-all game and cards were $1 each. The jackpot for that final round was above the $200 mark. In order to entertain us before the final round (and possibly because it was the last night of the fest, we were able to get as many free drinks as we wanted before the last game). I spent about $13 total on an hour of Bingo, which I don't consider to be too much of a loss. Did I really just write about Bingo for a full paragraph? Back to the fest. They have about 8-10 vendors for food including local restaurants. Rides are plentiful here, I couldn't even guess how many. Upwards of a dozen? Games were also not scarce, and they had all the classic games. I ended up winning myself a stuffed monkey. It's what every 29 year old adult female needs. I can only compare Itasca fest to Bartlett fest or Naperville's Rib Fest. I would probably prefer Itasca fest over both because it has WAY more games and rides than Bartlett, and isn't as crowded as Rib Fest. It's a new summer tradition.

After experiencing the difficulty of getting near the launch site of the fireworks shows, this year…read moreI decided to watch Itasca's firework show from a distance in Elk Grove Village. Though there was still quite a line off 53 and onto Biesterfield and Arlington Heights Roads, this is still much better than what I've experienced closer where the fireworks are launched. It's a good idea to allow a minimum of 30 min before and 30 min after for heavy congestion though even an hour after the show, the traffic was still quite heavy on the main roads. The show itself really dazzled with both a higher frequency of fireworks than many nearby spots as was a larger size fireworks. This spanned a large array of different firework types though I wish there was a little more variety in the colors available. Regardless, even from over a mile away, the show was amazing and well worth the drive nearby. It's still crowded in the surrounding towns and there were a substantial number of lines at local businesses like McDonalds who were serving food. Overall, great fireworks show to watch -- even if you're not experiencing it directly at Hamilton Lakes.

Great shot with lots of beautiful and very patriotic colors and styles of designs above our heads…read moregoing off, but was a little too short.

The 2023 Scottish Highland Games was another great year of bagpipes, fiddles, Scotch, food,…read moreculture, and plenty of dog friendly areas to bring your furry best friend. My only dislike is the long walk from the parking garage to the festivities. However, I heard it's last year at this venue, and it will hopefully be in a better place next year. We brought our folding wagon, chairs, and plenty of cold water for the day. Some highlights for me included the ice cold hard cider, beef meat pie, and fish and chips. We also enjoyed the Dogs of Scotland and Agility Junkies demo. The kilted bagpipers and athletes are incredible to watch, too. If you haven't been to a Highland Games yet, it's definitely worth it for a unique experience.

I AM KITH NOT KIN. If no go to no other ethnic festival GO…read moreTO THIS ONE! WHATEVER stereotype you think of it all goes away....theres' not a mean cold hearted Scrooge in the lot. The jewelry is my fave but men in kilts....OMG. And the contributions of Scots to American culture is mind blowing. Close your eyes but eat haggis!!!!! The bagpipes can be happy but when sorrowful will break your heart. There isnt a "bad kid" anywhere in the group and when their old colleagues show they get into high kicking duels!. The botiques are underrepresented but everything is PERFECT. Worth every dime. If they have tiaras Im getting one this year. So glad they are back, live and in person. HINT: Go to the Scotch saMpling table if there....the distributed could be a great Father Christmas. Missed y'all!!!

Average small festival. Bad bands, hardly any rides and terrible food. But it's free and the…read morefireworks are good!

Been going here for years and these by far are the best fireworks we've seen. We will continue to…read morego, although you gotta go early because it's so popular, traffic is ridiculous and trying to park can take a long time. We park on the residential streets and then walk, which is free. They have food and drink on site but lines can get long because again, so many people are there. But it's all worth the incredible fireworks show at the end.

Come one, come all to see the incredible fireworks show in Itasca at Hamilton Lakes. Bring your…read moreglow in the dark items or cash to buy some from the vendors there. Also, be sure to pack your foldable chairs or a blanket or you will be left to enjoy the feel of wet grass on your bottom. You can also bring food and drinks. If you choose to pack light, you can always buy things from the onsite vendors. Please note, there's no free parking. I repeat, there is no free parking. $20 per vehicle. If you are going with a group, pile in the car like a group of clowns and you'll feel better about the parking price. The show was spectacular and by looking at the crowd of 20,000+, it is definitely a popular event that has been well attended for some time. The evening's events included live music. Pat McKillen opened and the 8p performer was Maggie Speaks. The sound and music selections were great. We enjoyed some oldies and quite a few new ones ......a perfect mix for a diverse group of spectators. The fireworks were synchronized to music. The colors were bold, bright and displayed well. The crowd watched quietly and occasionally ooooooh and ahhhhhh'd at the different displays. Nice job City of Itasca! What a great way to make use of your land. And burbanites can enjoy big lights without having to drive to the city.

This was my first Oktoberfest and I greatly enjoyed it!…read more There was German beer, food, and music! Now that's a real Oktoberfest or I would like to think so because Oktoberfest orginated from Germany and how can you have one without all the German goods? The event is quite small, but the crowd was great! People enjoying music and participated in German dances! I got to try some real German food, which made the foodie in me extremely happy! My favorites were the German potato salad and spaetzle (egg noodle)! The spaetzle came with a gravy, which made it deliciously flavorful! For you non-adventurers there were the basic hot dogs, pretzels, chips, etc. The bf and fam enjoyed the food and German beer also. They even bought some huge glass jugs with a German logo on it! Fun times, wish it was bigger and more German cuisines.

Ugly fest too depresed festival. Too small, too poor definitely if you wanna waste your time go…read more Watch tv is better. Sorry but I not recommended. Only if you wanna eat German food it's ok.

I came here for a magic show with a group of friends on a Friday. Overall, good facility! There's a…read moresmall parking lot for patrons nearby, which was nice. Bartenders were friendly. Bathrooms were clean. It was cold, but that's typical of buildings in the summer. I'd come back!

What's life without a little magic! We came by to see a show on a Sunday afternoon and we're able…read moreto enjoy the Physician's show. When you walk in there is a bar and some tables but through the double doors, you'll find a 2nd bar with a speakeasy feel. When we checked in, we were assigned our tables. We ordered drinks before hand and the drinks were brought to our tables. We also ordered the pimento cheese and crackers. We snacked on the crackers most of the show as there was quite a bit of pimento in the bowl. The show was great and was broken into 2 parts. There were a lot of great metaphors along with it being a very interactive show with the crowd. Many of the tricks and magic left us in complete awe. We can't wait to come back and see future shows!

Awesome party band! LOTS of FUN!read more

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