The fest is pretty large and spread out. Sure, it's free to get in. However, they get you on the…read moreparking costs. They have different tiers depending on how close you want to park. To get in and out of the parking lots can be a pain. The food vendors accept cash or card which is nice. Food lines are long! Be prepared to wait. They had multiple bar lines that were fast. Bar lines also sold water and NA options. Plenty of porta potties. If you plan on attending bring your own chair or blanket to sit on. They allow you to bring in your own food and drinks (just no outside alcohol). Something to keep in mind to keep your costs down. Spread out, but expect crowds. Overall a good event.

We attended this event last year, we had a table set up there for our company (Westway Coach), a…read moreschool bus company. Just wanted to add that we had an amazing time there, the ambient, the music, the food, all was great, we had an amazing time being part of this event.

The real highlight here is the carnival Giant Drop ride. Go…read moreon it with someone who is scared of heights, you'll doubt yourself.

This past weekend Glen Ellyn sponsored their annual Taste. This was my first time to Glen Ellyn's…read moreversion of a family fun weekend that most times is overrun by annoying teenage punks. Lombard Taste, you know what I'm talking about. I would say this is your average, run-of-the-mill, get what you pay for (it was free) local festival. For being a "Taste" there wasn't all that much being offered from local vendors. There were maybe 4 vendors with local treats like Tap House Grill, Chicks 'n Salsa, Chicago Prime Meat Market and a pizza joint. The rest of the food was your "eat with caution, likely to induce some serious commode time" typical carni-culprits like gyros and meat on a stick. Who doesn't love deep fried snickers that are advertised as "tastes like warm fudge"? ughhhhh. The arts and crafts were a sight for sore eyes. Actually, eyes that hurt really, really bad. They did have a climbing wall that seemed to be quite a hit with the youngsters. And I totally would have scaled that thing if not for the fear of ripping my pants open in front of the school-aged innocent. The free concerts on Saturday night made up for what could have been a bust of a weekend. Tin Horse, a country chick's band, and The New Invaders, a 60's cover band, kept us highly entertained throughout the cold night. Part of that might have had to do with the beer tent and those little $5 red tickets. My advice to next years Taste Committee - pick it up a notch, think about what people actually want to see/do at a festival, not just what's always been done. Promote local biz but do it in a modern way that will make people want to come back next year.

This was our first time attending the Dupage Native Plant Sale. It is now held at the Dupage Event…read moreCenter and Fairgrounds. Parking and admission were free. This is a 2 day event selling over 150 different types of native flowers,grasses,shrubs and trees. There were many volunteers around to ask questions and get recommendations. Plants are not restocked daily so best is to go early on the first day. It gets crowded and with so many people pulling wagons and carts,patience is required! They do have a few trays to use but best is to bring your own boxes. Cash,check or credit cards are accepted but I wish the checkout area was in a different location than where the plants were being sold as the lines for checkout were very long. Proceeds benefit the Dupage Forest Preserve.

It's a cute little county fair. My little family and I enjoyed it. Normal fair attractions and…read morefood/drinks. Reasonable fair prices. Little animals barn animals to enjoy. The cool little octopus to climb and take pictures with was different. What I didn't enjoy was the wristband didn't really work for my toddler. She went on one ride just fine and then was told she was too short for all the other rides, which should've been noted when purchasing the wristband. She was later told she couldn't even go on the same ride she first went on.

They have the absolute best fireworks in Dupage county hands down! Love this little neighborhood…read morefestival

Rides like no other town. Food vendors are ok. Music is awesome. Hands down, best fireworks around,…read moregets crowded so get a spot early.

Our company was a sponsor for this years brewfest so I grabbed my babe and headed there. The line…read morewasn't bad at all, we bought his ticket and went straight to the first booth. There was 80 different beers and we tried them all! Some of my favorite breweries, including Church Street, Lunar and More, were there. I'm pretty sure we tried all of the beers. One of my favorites (not a beer) was the Peach Country Ciderboy! I'm so digging ciders right now. Villa Park did a great job for their first brew fest. The vendors and the volunteers were super nice and we never had to stand in a long line. They had a few food trucks too, I had two tacos from Dori's Tacos, not bad! I can't wait for next year!

I have to say, I still enjoyed the show, but it has gotten a whole lot smaller. There is one less…read moreroom of vendors on the second floor and the whole room in the middle on the first floor is no longer. Some of the long time vendors are not there and there are a couple of new ones. Also, down to just 2 choices for food vendors. Dave's Coffee Cakes is still up on the second floor and still offering samples ~YUM. Parking is still free but people park so haphazardly that it can be almost impossible to get into your car and out of your space when you are finished and want to leave.

From the owner: Promoters of award-winning arts & crafts shows. Each show is brimming with row after row of…read morehandcrafted, one-of-a-kind home decor & gifts. Entertainment, food & drink & lots of family fun.

We went on July 4 hoping to see fireworks and hear Melissa Etheridge and the Stray Cats. It was a…read moreno to the first and partials for the 2nd two. We got an online discount so buying online isn't always a ripoff. I wasn't crazy about the lack of info for the shuttle service. We took the Metra in and read that shuttles came there, but we go off the train and foolishly crossed over, looking for a bus or a sign. After 10 min we got an Uber, THEN realized where the shuttles were; next time they should post signs on where to look for the shuttle. It was great when we arrived, you gotta go to Just North of Memphis for ribs and PEACH BREAD PUDDING. The mac n cheese was ok, so-so, but I never heard of peach bread pudding, it was to LIVE for! They cleared the park around 6 when no lightning was present, and we stood in the HOT gym across the street. Luckily Melissa had barely started, and we were able to stand outside as nothing major happened yet. We went back in, ate more and missed most of Melissa, then around 8 or so it really was lightning and about to rain, and we just managed to hear the Stray Cats do their #1 song 'Stray Cat Strut'. By 9 the whole thing was cancelled, and we sought out the shuttle buses as the rain started. I may go again next year in a car.

I came here for the first time on July 6th and had such a fun time! The weather was actually not…read morescorching hot for once, so I was able to fully enjoy what Ribfest had to offer without melting away in the heat. Parking: While there are many paid parking options, there is free parking out there if you don't mind a walk! Considering the fact that I was there for the food, I didn't mind walking it off. Saves me the cash! Tickets: Don't buy tickets online. I knew people who bought online and paid way too much. Because this Ribfest had quite a few event cancellations due to weather, they slashed ticket prices HARD. My boyfriend and I paid $10 for the two of us. Much better than paying $30+ per person! Buy tickets at the door for sure. Food: Omg the ribs were amazing. I highly recommend Texas Outlaw, which was hands-down the best rib offering around. They also made an awesome mac and cheese! I also tried ribs from Johnson's and Memphis but they were nowhere near as good. My only complaint about the ribs is that you are blindly purchasing them. I wish they would put together a little guide about the different restaurants there to help people decide which ribs to try. Since it's pretty easy to get overwhelmed with food and spending here, I recommend ordering the smallest amount of ribs from a booth and splitting that with a buddy. You'll cover more ground this way and will be able to try out more of the rib options without feeling like death. There's plenty of additional food out there aside from ribs. Dippin' dots were a refreshing sweet treat! Bands: I didn't really care about any of the entertainment--I was just there for the ribs. With that being said, the band offered nice background music. No complaints here. Seating: While eating, it's nice to get a seat. They offer lots of communal seating under a tent right next to where the band plays. Getting a seat was not an issue for me at any point. However, people do bring lawn chairs to just plop down anywhere. I think that's a good idea for sure. Sponsors: There are several alleys of sponsors set up at booths. Northwestern had a life-sized Operation game which was a ton of fun, and Arthur Murray dance studio gave out postcards for a free dance lesson. There were quite a few other fun freebies--including the BRILLIANT person who was giving away water, which saved me some cash instead of having me buy it at the food tents--but beware of all the weird home improvement tents. Those people were super pushy and epitomize a hard sell. FYI--Interestingly, I also randomly saw Gov Bruce Rauner here. He told me to enjoy the ribs, which I did, lol. Entertainment: There are lots of carnival rides for which you can purchase tickets, but I think they are a waste of money. There is an entire section of family-friendly and FREE activities to do. This includes a petting zoo, magic show, and plenty more fun giveaways. All in all, I had a wonderful time and am so glad that I went! I'm looking forward to doing it again sometime. This is a perfect summer event and the best summer festival in the 'burbs.

Overall a decent fest. I recommend parking near the train station. (Or if you live near a BNSF…read morestop, convenient to take train to). Free admission. I have come multiple times to see a cover band. If you want to try some of the local restaurants, they have booths. It is a decent amount of walking. You can bring in your own chair to watch the bands or stand. They accept both cash and card at the beer tent. However, if you pay with card there is a fee. Vendors and crafts are same junk you see everywhere. Every year there is someone trying to sell me home improvements.

Taste of Westmont is an annual event located in the Downtown area on N Cass Ave. It offers a mix of…read morecarnival rides & games, (2) stages for live music, vendor tents, a beer tent, and food vendor area. There is no admission charge and street parking isn't too difficult to find. This is my second time attending the event and loved the atmosphere in the mid afternoon. There were about 8-10 food tents or trucks offering samples of their best items. All food venders were local to the Westmont area which I love. Most of the vendor tents this year were home remodeling companies or community organizations. While this is nice, I missed some of the mom & pop vendors offering decor, candies, artisan goods, etc. Overall, this is a great family-friendly event. It may not be the biggest festival but it's enough. It's never been too crowded when I've come and I always enjoy the sense of community!

This is one of my favorite summer festival to come and enjoy with my family. Great Food,…read moreEntertainment and Good Vibes. I have been coming here for many years and the vibes have always been good. The food prices are very reasonable. Food & Drinks range from $3.00 to maybe $6.00 if that much. Very inexpensive and budget friendly. This festival is a place for you to try different authentic foods, music and good vibes. You can shop the vendors tents and find some cool things to purchase. There are several stages where you can enjoy a live concert. There is a carnival with a few rides for the kids to stay entertained. I always look forward to coming here year. Taste of Melrose Park is always around the first week in September.

A bunch of us checked out the Taste of Melrose Park during Labor Day weekend. This is a food fest…read morewith free admission. Amazingly every food item was priced at $3 or less. It was fun to try all sorts of tasty foods. Many of them were Italian bites but there were other Mexican-style foods as well. We enjoyed items such as Italian beef, arancini, flat "fried meatball" sandwich, a "salad sandwich" that was quite good because of the fresh bread, cheese fries, cannoli, root beer float, slushie and a lovely serving of sfingi (freshly made "donut holes" made by nuns, how can you top that?). There are fair faves such as promotional freebies, carnival rides, a guy on stilts, and a clown pushing a mini-clown in a stroller (wha wha??). There is some entertainment as well (we heard bagpipers after someone belted out the Star Spangled Banner). This was sort of a folksy food fest, and the price was right. If you are looking for something fun to do next Labor Day weekend in the 'burbs, keep Taste of Melrose Park in mind.

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.