Midwest Brewer's Fest in Plainfield is at the Plainfield Riverfront Park with a ton of craft beers…read morein 2 oz servings. Parking is a good distance walk on a rocky, uneven path from the fest and costs $10! Good thing we had our emergency valet money in the car because we weren't prepared for that cost as the website listed free parking. My friend wasn't all that happy with paying for parking but I reminded him that the money all goes to a good cause. :D Plus!!! We got our tickets for free (Thanks, Candice!!!) - and they're normally $40 when you prepay. It was hot as balls on the day of the fest. Being hot as balls, it would have been nice to have more tents & seating set up for people to relax. Also, they had water kegs on the lawn, but were empty when I tried to get some water. Other than the parking, water and bathroom situation, I thought the event was well put together and ran quite smoothly. Because there were so many breweries, lines were relatively short. My favorite beer was the Watermelon from Horny Goat. I've passed Horny Goat in Milwaukee many times so was pleased I got to try one of their brews. They were out of their other two offerings by 3pm (two hours in) which suited me fine as I wanted the Watermelon...but others were leaving the line a bit crabby. Because of the extreme heat, we didn't stay the full fest and I couldn't drink as much beer as I would have liked. I had 17 tickets left at the end of the fest (started out with 25) and felt a bit sad I couldn't use them. On the long walk back to the car, my flip flop broke! Eek! So I had to gimp back to the car, dying to go pee because I refused to go in the porta potties onsite. All in all, it was a decent festival but could tweak some areas to make it amazing festival. I'll probably skip the fest next year unless the weather is nice and cool and the breweries promise to offer some more unique choices.

The Midwest Brewer's Fest seemed very well planned. For a $40 General Admission ticket ($50 at the…read moregate) attendees received a beautifuly printed, perfect bound brochure containing detailed Fest info which included a foldout pocket map of the festival grounds/beer tents and a description of each participating brewery with room for taking notes; a plastic beer 'glass', and 25 tickets for 2 oz. beer pours. If you're doing the math, that's just over 3 pints of beer. Of course it's difficult to do just a 2 oz. pour from a tap, so I estimate if you used all your tickets you probably had 4 pints of beer. I'm a lightweight and so is my husband, so we were more interested in tasting a variety of brews than in quantity of beer received, so the small pours were great for us. We got to taste a lot of beers, though we didn't get to them all. Our palate and backs tired out well before we began to feel the beer. There were four beer tents (A-D) with 14 brewers each. That's 56 brewers! Each brewery brought at least two beers. There were kegs of cold, filtered water all along both sides of each tent so attendees could wash their beer glasses, cleanse their palates, and stay hydrated. There was also a VIP tent, but not having VIP tickets I can't tell you what went on there. The lines for beer were generally short. Even the long lines were not a long wait. It was smart of the organizers not to oversell tickets. There was a designated smoking area occupied mostly by cigar smokers. It was not a smokers ghetto, but rather set up under a tree with some cushy outdoor couches and chairs. Cigars were sold on site. Now I have been known to appreciate a cigar with a stout or porter, but I do wish the designated smoking area had been at one end of the grounds or the other. Having it alongside the beer tents meant I often had cigar smoke with my ale whether I wanted it or not. There were also individuals who felt the designated smoking area did not apply to them and who hit me in the face with a blast of smoke while I was waiting in line for a beer. Not appreciated. Food was exceptional for a fest of this kind. Way better than hot dogs spinning on a roller. Heaven on Seven was there, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Windy City Paella, Aurelio's Pizza. I had paella and it was delicious. There was plenty of shade and seating in the food tent too. I heard some folks paid $10 dollars for parking. We parked free near the Village Hall and walked no further than everyone else. My biggest disappointment had nothing to do with the Fest itself, but with the brewers' offerings. There was an overabundance of pale ales, IPAs, and wheat beers. There were quite a few pumpkin ales too. My husband and I had really hoped some of the brewers would bring out their less pedestrian brews. There was not one sour to be had. There were a few Belgian abbey styles. At least one porter and one stout. We thought surely with so many brewers and beers that we would be able to extend our experience of what we know as beer, but there was not the variety of styles that we had expected. We were pleased to find mead and several brewers of ciders and perrys. The purpose of the fest (beyond celebrating craft beer) was to raise funds to restore the Plainfield Riverfront (the venue for the Fest) and support Pints for Prostates. I confess I won the tickets as a (very new) Yelp Elite. Had we spent $80 to find less variety than we expected, we might have been very disappointed because $80 buys dinner and a couple choice selections of beer at a good beer bar. I would still be impressed by the organization and experience of the Fest itself. Perhaps the organizers can persuade the brewers to take more chances with their offerings next year.

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!

Excited my first brews on the Blvd thanks Yelp. The venue is great. There is a nice area to have a…read moresmall festival. There were a total of 14 local breweries. I didn't know there were so many , from Woodridge, Darien, Lombard, Plainfield and more. Hope vine is nice, loved Myths and legends there beer was great nice and refreshing.

This was so much fun! We got unlimited beer samples and lots of appetizers. All of the beers were…read morejust great and I found a couple beers I'll add to my rotation. I look forward to doing this next year!

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.

Came here to see a concert of the band Kashmir. The venue is very cool. But keep in mind that the…read morefloor is not slanted towards the stage at all. The views are good, but you may have a tall person sitting in front of you. The staff here are all volunteers, but they are even more friendly and helpful than any paid staff I've dealt with at a venue like this. And major props for their sound and lighting staff. They do have good beers and other drinks, but only snack foods. Be prepared.

Went here for the first time a few weeks ago to see Terrapin Flyer and I fell in love with this…read moreplace! Sound is fantastic and not a bad seat in there. Drinks are VERY reasonable priced! People who volunteer there are all friendly and helpful. Can't wait to go see another show here!

A celebration of craft beer for hop heads, by hop heads? Though I don't pretend to know much about…read morehoppy beer, I'd like to learn... and a June day borrowed from 'A Time to Kill' (oh my mugginess!) in Two Brothers' parking lot seemed like a good enough place to begin my education. And so it began. Though the Hop Juice Festival is only in its third year, the juice is out of the bag and it's almost impossible to snag a VIP ticket unless you get on that super early (they're $65 and include five beers, admittance into the tap house, unlimited food + a special dinner buffet, a seat and access to real restrooms vs. porta potties). Otherwise, admission is free! After experiencing firsthand how wildly popular it is, I won't be surprised if it eventually morphs into an exclusive ticketed fest à la Three Floyds' Dark Lord Day. There is a point to all this madness: The fest commemorates the annual release of Hop Juice Double India Pale Ale (100 IBU's!) and also a beer exclusive to this festival, Hop Juice Black. I didn't try it, but was told it's Hop Juice's more aggressive sibling. In addition to Two Brothers brews, the much-hyped (and closely guarded 'til day of) guest beer list gets people going like Pavlov's dogs. The lines can be a bit intimidating, but don't let them deter you as they do move fast. What's important: Bring patience, sunscreen and a gypsy spirit - wandering around the grounds is fun and making new friends is easy! What isn't easy is finding parking (arrive early!) but the fantastic selection of exclusive and rare guest beer taps makes up for it... as does the food! Two Brothers serves turkey legs, housemade bratwurst, their famed fish tacos and more on the cheap - many of the items are only $4! Eight hours of live music will keep you entertained and the Brothers dedication to the Make-A-Wish Foundation makes this a feel-good affair. Well done good sirs!

Two Brothers spiced things up a bit this year with the addition of Hop Juice Black - a slightly…read moremeaner cousin to an already strong but well balanced beer. The balance in flavor helps hop juice from being feared by those who like a lighter beer but still provides plenty of punch to those who prefer something a bit heavier. This celebration is all about these beers and their release into the wild for the masses to consume. It also features the rest of the Two Brothers beer line-up, some great Two Brothers food (love the fish tacos!) and guest beers from other breweries like Lagunitas. On that topic, if you really want a guest beer get a lay of the land - there is a limited quantity of brew and there are 2 lines in a close area. I missed the Lagunitas Barrel Aged Imperial but I did get my hands on another guest brew later. The lines were a bit long this year, but nothing I wouldn't expect out of any similar event. With any kind of planning you can pick up food / beer tickets when you buy your take-home beer and avoid the other line all-together. Food lines were long earlier in the day but there was no wait later in the evening. Some of the day the Hop Juice lines were non-existent, and other times there was a decent wait. Things averaged out to be as-expected, but I wonder if there isn't some way to improve on it a bit for next year. In any case, the juice was loose and the crowd was great. It's good seeing people you know and meeting new ones while enjoying fresh, delicious, libations from a great brewer. Overall I had a great time and I'll be back again next year!

We had my Fathers Celebration of Life event here. The staff was excellent! very nice and…read moreaccommodating. Staff/bartenders superb. Never waited for a drink. We roughly had 150/200 people in attendance. Big LED screen with a running picture album. Music playing. Plenty of room with low tables and high tops. Food was great. Buffett style. We came in on Monday night to help set up for Tuesdays party. Highly recommend!!

Attended the1985band performance on 11/22/2025…read more The band was amazing and I truly hope they come back. This was the first time at this venue and we really saw much to like, great place to hang out listen to good music and dance. Ticket process was very simple and easy online and reasonable. Easy parking, courteous, helpful staff, and all around great people and experience. Did I mention an awesome band that would love to see you again as well.?!

I believe this is an annual event. It is held on the grounds of the elementary school which REALLY…read morecauses parking headaches ~ for neighbors and attendees alike. That was my only complaint. This is a cute, little old fashion carnival that uses corn as an excuse to have a good time. There are rides for all ages but 36 inches tall appears to be the starting point for riders. There is a food section, an area for musical entertainment, a craft section, and I understand they also have fireworks, we did not stay that late. Alcoholic beverages were available, but ID was required to obtain the wristband that was required to purchase alcohol AND they were not allowed in the main carnival area. The fire department brought out the heavy equipment and the SWAT team looked very intimidating. Oh, don't mess with the K-9 squad either. This is not a 6 Flags type place, Lines were extremely short, sometimes nonexistent and the ride operators were very gentle with the little ones, even willing to stop the ride if tears started to flow. We lucked out in that it was not 95 degrees with high humidity. A nice event to take the grandkids and do a little people watching.