I'd call it a rinky-dink festival but it was actually really fun and the musical acts were nothing…read moreto scoff at, especially for the price (FREE!). I really liked it because not only did they put on a great FREE fireworks show on Thursday (July 3rd) evening, but even during Saturday's headliner (Howie Day) it wasn't even close to mildly crowded and the sound was actually really good. We liked the music acts so much that we actually came by twice in one day to catch this ZZ-Top sounding band along with Howie Day and a fun girl cover band that all play in the Fred P Hall outdoor Amphitheater (Palatine's hidden gem). The fest food is nothing to write home about beyond the slices from JJ Twiggs. Otherwise you're stuck with like 6 different quesadilla and fried food vendors. Soda and water is $1, and there's a beer tent with various Miller and Mike's Hard products. We chose to BYO in a discreet thermos, but I don't actually know if that's allowed or not. There are some vendor tents but we avoided those altogether- seemed like a few church things and pampered chef vendors, homemade loom type things. There was this really cool wood carving guy but since I'm moving soon we tried not to fall in love with any extra wares. I think the biggest draw of the fest is the kid-friendly factor teamed up with the rides, which ranged from tot-friendly to downright terrifying, but I really have to give it up to this fest because I did not think it was possible to transform this park in to such an massive entertainment and amusement park.

This is a great local community festival 4th of July weekend paid for by a local community…read moreorganization the Palatine Jaycees for the residents of the community. My family and I have attended the festival each year for the last 10 years. This event is over 50 years old and gets better each year. There is food vendors, a carnival, beer booth, and great local bands. Tip don't set up a blanket on the field for the fireworks prior to 8AM on the 3rd.

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.

A great Fourth of July festival. Frontier Days is a must see. The most fun you will have in five…read moredays. The activities during the day are geared toward families and great entertainment at night. The best part is that admission is free. Food and beer are available to purchase and at reasonable prices. The "Red Shirt" volunteers put in a great deal of care and effort and it shows. On Independence Day, I attended the parade and it is THE BEST parade that I have ever seen. The focus is on fun with a capital F. Before the band on the first night I saw them present scholarships. What a great way to give back to the community! Beyond the regular carnival activities are some very special and unique activities that make Frontier Days special. Among them are bingo, pony rides, pie eating contest, rib eating contest, cake decorating, dog frisbee, corn hole, water fights, soccer tournament, volleyball tournament, spikeball tournament, etc. The family fun stage is filled with lots of amazing entertainment such as the pet parade, magicians, reptile show, dancers, clowns, police demonstrations, and music acts. The best part of the festival for me is the Citizens with Disabilities day. This is a day where citizens with disabilities and their families can ride in the carnival without the big crowds and with accessibility considerations. This is followed by a great lunch and entertainment for the families. Frontier days is definitely a magical way to spend the Fourth of July weekend!

One of the busier 4th of July Festivals in the area, Frontier Days also has some of the most…read moreoptions for things to do or see. Here are some thoughts on various aspects: Location: Located conveniently in Recreation Park, this is an easy walk from parking garages and street parking around Arlington Heights downtown. Layout: As others have noted, most food and events are located in half of the park while the other areas aren't utilized as much. Due to the layout of recreation park, this is probably unavoidable. But, there's typically not much of a traffic jam except in the rides area and when exiting a concert. Food: Reasonably priced for a festival. There's fortunately lots of different food, drink, alcohol, and dessert (ice cream) options here. Nothing too fancy (or healthy) -- but you'll find the standard options to feed your family like pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, italian beef, etc. Rides: Great selection for a festival. Not as huge as the biggest ones around Chicago, but for this area of the suburbs it's quite large. There's also discounts for bargain rides for only $20. Performers: There are evening concerts with a band on the main stage every evening. Free to attend and a great way to end the evening. Previous performers have included Plain White T's, American English, The Wallflowers, etc. Other activities: Include parade, arts & crafts, eating contests, miscellaneous performers, athletic activities, marketplace, animal petting, etc. Overall, great place to spend the 4th of July weekend with tons of fun activities and reasonable prices -- plus great music.

Fun summer event with lots of great Irish themed booths, music, activities, drinks, and food…read more Throughout the event, there's plenty of great dancing and bands that play starting from the afternoon that goes till the evening. Admission is very reasonable at only $5, with proceeds benefiting the Arlington Heights Historical Museum. There are some nice photo taking opportunities as well with several setups for leprechaun themed pictures. Nice place to spend an evening listening to some great music and celebrating Irish culture. Don't forget to try some of the special soda offered here as well.

From the owner: Irish Fest with beer, food and bands. $5 admission.read more

This was great and it was bad at the same time. I don't go to too many festivals so when saw this…read morewas going to be in downtown Palatine, just a few miles from our home, we opted to go. The disappointment was the number of trucks. There were about seven or eight. Four or five of them had food, one had drinks, two had desserts. I had food from two of them - I had a pulled pork sandwich at the Best Truckin' BBQ and the three tacos combo at Mario's Cart. The food was good, but the waits were very long. I went to the BBQ cart early and didn't get my sandwich for 40 minutes. And, when I went to Mario's Cart a couple of hours later, even though I walked right up to the window, there were about 30 people waiting for theirs to be served. There were too few trucks for the number of people who showed. I later learned there was another Food Truck Festival in Elgin at the same time. I suppose that is where the rest of the trucks were. The great part of the fest was the band. Really, it was a separate event at the Palatine Bandshell, but it took place as soon as they closed the trucks. The band was called "Morry Sochat & The Special 20's" - they played a mixture of Blues Rock and Blues. I have to say they were really great. The musical talent on the stage was really wonderful. We went with a large group of friends and even ran into some people we knew while we were there. The music was great fun. The festival should/could have been better.

Mitsuwafest was not all I had hoped it would be. Tons of people walking around like they think it's…read moreComicon and others in kimonos - it was quite an interesting group of attendees at this festival. I do have to say I was jealous of the Hello Kitty masks people had. But $6 for a flimsy Halloween style plastic mask I'll never wear again ain't happening! There were only about 5 stands for food items - octopus balls, ramen, chicken on skewers.I was lucky enough to have my Japanese friend with me so she was able to translate the food signs. Had she not been there, we wouldn't have been completely certain of what we were getting as signs were not in English. Everything I had was good but I definitely expected there to be more food options. I may venture to say that the food in their regular marketplace is better, as well. We went inside during the fest to get some green tea soft serve...sad. The place was completely packed with not enough activities or performances to fill the time. It was mostly just standing around...waiting in longggg lines for food. The festival was completely packed to the brims but it was nice to not have the usual drunk, rude festival goers that you see at other city fests. I did enjoy the drum show but hate to admit that my friends and I rolled out after about 10 minutes watching the drums. The good about the festival is that it's free! It's in the suburbs and will give you a little somethin' somethin' to do that's not the norm. I do suggest coming early to get a parking spot as the later it gets, the harder parking is to find. Now this wasn't my first time going to the fest, but those of you who haven't gone before, hopefully you can be well prepared for next year!

I look forward to attending the Bon Odori Festival every year! Tsukasa Taiko (#TaikoLegacy)…read moredrumming is definitely an entertainment highlight, as is the Bon Dance! The kiddos who do karate also break boards and this year did a nunchuck/swordfighting demo to The Rocky theme!!! YES! They are the most adorbs! And fierce. Definitely fierce. (Please don't beat me up!) ^_^ People-watching is supreme! There are all kinds of cute families, kiddies and adults in kimonos, and cosplayers. Food is plentiful and affordable (btwn. $2-5): ramen, yakitori, takoyaki (ah-maZing aaaand the longest line!), gyoza, SPAM musubi, curry, sno cones, cotton candy, and sooo much more! Note that the fest ends at 8pm, so I would NOT count on food being available last-minute. There are sales in Mitsuwa Marketplace during the fest as well. My ONLY desire? That they could add some recycling bins and do away with the styrofoam containers. Overall, the Bon Odori Festival is a great cultural experience with lots of affordable food! Bring the whole fam!

A fun filled day, get your japanese fix and bet in horses to boot. Cant beat that. The booths that…read morewere set up gave a great intro into japanese culture. The performances and the performers did a great job. The food was good, reasonably priced, or a heck of alot better price compared to track food. They even had the elusive takoyaki which I absolutly love, its octopus dumplings, and tastes much better then one would think. There was also okonomiyaki, line was to long so sadly didnt get a chance to try that. Rounding out the food were ramen dishs. There were booths that sold Japanese products from toys for kids to books that taught japanese. The event staff were all friendly, especially the tshirt sellars. They worked hard to sell those shirts. I bought 2. Next to the tshirts you could fill out a survey for the festival and get free crackers, rice or wheat. I chose rice and my picky niece who never tries anything new nearly ate the entire package. I came to the festival mainly for the Awa Odori Chicago groups dance, its one of those things in life that justs puts a big smile on my face. Sadly, it started to rain heavy and this event was slightly pushed back. There was a break in the rain and 3 people from Awa Odori Chicago started to teach how to do the dance and wouldnt you know it, the rain came back. So my group decided to leave since it did not look like the rain would end. So I left and 30ish min after I left it was clear skies. Ugh!! Oh well there is next year. I do want to also mention that there was a cosplay contest. Many people who attended the festival dressed up. Great costumes and the cosplayers were happy to be photographed, even with others. You saw many people wearing traditional yukatas and kimonos, as well as the ability to try them on and get photographed in a yukata or kimono. Lastly, there was a great japanese band I also didnt get a chance to see, Funkist. Would have been a great treat for an old anime nerd. Overall I had great time even though nature had its own plans. I do recommend going next time the Japan Day Chicago event is going on.

I come here every year, including this year. GREAT time, and above all, AWESOME weather. At first…read morewe weren't going to go because the kids were sick, but after having a bit of cabin fever, and since it was sunny in the 60s, we had to venture out. The event was somewhat smallish... they had 3 or 4 food tents, a wine tent, and the rest of the tent was for sitting. The place wasn't too crowded and the music was awesome. It's a good ol' time in the burbs.