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.

Waited in line for food for 30 minutes only to be told, they only except cash or Venmo what are we…read moredrug dealers? Left it don't need it not coming back again

This was really a lot of fun. We got to hear two bands - the first "Wedding Band", was a pretty…read moregood cover band. They all wore t-shirt tuxedos (a little tacky), but their music was good. At 10 pm the headliner came out - they were called the "Cherry Poppin' Daddies" out of Oregon somewhere. The name put us off a little (no- a lot). Their music was what I would call "suggestive" but their style could be classified as swing. This was not what a Saturday night crowd of several thousands wanted to hear. Not sure why Palatine chose them and not a rock band. Needless to say, a lot of people left during their performance. Now, the festival itself was great - Palatine festivals always get a great turn out. There were the regular information booths from insurers, politicians and window replacement companies. The food tents represented the best of Palatine - I had Pad Thai from Siri Thai and a hamburger from Heybeck's. Both were outstanding. Finally, the beer garden was packed. We set up chairs by the stage, but trans-versed the crowds to get beer several times. All I can say is there was no way to get to the beer tent easily. Oh, it was a straight shot. But there were so many people and the music was so loud, in many cases you had to push your way through. The craziest thing was the way they cordoned off the beer garden. The main entry was about a 30 foot long metal plank on the south of the area. There was one other entry point to the east. The porta- potties were set up to the northwest of the beer garden which I think makes sense. But, there was no entry between the two. In order to go from one section to the other, you had to leave the beer garden from either the south or the east, then walk all of the way around until you got there. It was not convenient. But, overall, it was a really good street fest which I will definitely go to again next years. My hope is that the people who put it together take these two points into consideration. If they corrected these, it would be a 5 star experience.

Have come to September fest a few times over the years. Not bad particularly for a free fair. Lots…read moreof vendors who sell every possible crafty thing out there. Lots of food, games, etc. Parking is at either one of the high schools and you get shuttled or there is parking at one of the local churches. Would recommend for good family wholesome fun!

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.

Allways very well run and organized. Thery ahve a great carnival and large food offering. There is…read morea ton of different other activaties from bingo to hockey skills. One of the resons its so good is the quality of the volunteers, they are the heartbeat of the festival. We have been a vendor at the marketplace for the last few years and its the best one of any of the city festivals. Its worth the trip to check out, there is something for everyone.

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!

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.

While I feel like the Long Grove Chocolate Festival seems to have a little less great vendors as…read morethey have in past years, we still like to go here every year. Highlights, for me, include the parking for donations at the friendly Church of Long Grove lot on Robert Parker Coffin Road, chocolate martinis at Enzo & Lucia's, chocolate covered strawberries and cider donuts, drinks on the patio at Buffalo Creek Brewing and of course, we love that this fest is dog-friendly. While I feel there are too many vendors offering home improvements, like new windows or bathtubs, I get that the fest needs vendors to support their efforts. The businesses of Long Grove are always lovely to visit with employees and staff who appreciate their customers. An annual tradition we proudly support.

This festival is basically a summer street fair and it's quite nice for that. Despite the name of…read morethe event, just don't come expecting a lot of chocolate themed offerings. It's an oft mentioned comment in the reviews and it's true. With the kiddos in tow though, it's a nice summer outing for activities like their reptile show, some face painting, some kids' arts and crafts, browsing for kids' knick-knacks, and a bit of street food. They also had a separate setup of carnival rides for pay. There were only a couple of chocolate related offerings I saw - a chocolate martini drink, and a couple of chocolate snacks and such. They also had some small music stage acts that we did not try to see. Admission is $5 for adults (plus a $2.14 online purchase fee) and it's free for age 12 and under. There was limited free parking in their smallish public lots but there was a $5 donation lot a couple blocks away that would be your best bet. The fair is set up with only a modest amount of walking. The carnival rides involve purchasing separate ride tickets out of an unmanned dispenser which worked just fine. Rides are about $3-4 pp. This fest makes for a fine and delightful summer outing in quaint Long Grove if you just set your bar down appropriately.

Sadly, as others have shared, there weren't a lot of strawberry items here as there have been at…read morepast festivals. However, I can always count on Enzo & Lucia's for a cool, themed cocktail, like a frozen strawberry daiquiri, in this case. Other "on theme" items we saw were chocolate dipped strawberries (dark chocolate is my favorite), strawberry donuts, strawberry Nutrl, Smithwick's strawberry brew, and chocolate strawberry kabobs. One Greek food vendor had a strawberry frozen yogurt with baklava that was very refreshing in the heat. A beer mimosa at Buffalo Creek Brewing hit the spot too, and it's great to be able to cool off inside, even with our pup. We are always thankful for the parking at Long Grove Community Church for a $5 donation - totally worth it. And the people working the parking lot are so friendly. Thank you to the Village of Long Grove and an army of volunteers, first responders, and people it takes to make these festivals available.

$5 to park with The Lions, $7 to park in the lot by Buffalo Creek Brewing, used to be free (first…read morecome first serve). $7 to enter the festival, used to be a suggested donation, now it's required. So you are already out the 12 to 14 bucks plus gas and you have not even done anything yet. Interestingly enough, Buffalo Creek Brewing was pretty chill just outside the festival and did not have a booth at the festival either; but was a welcome respite from the crowds. FYI - Buffalo beers in plastic cups are allowed to take with you when a festival is going on. If you are coming for music, scope the schedule out ahead of time because they tend to do theme nights, this year Friday was modern, Saturday was classic rock, and Sunday was country. There were a few niche "strawberry" type featured items from some vendors, but for the most part, this was more of a straight up street fest. You are allowed to bring lawn chairs for the live music and many do. Several food types available, BBQ, Brats, Grilled Cheese, Quesadillas, Nachos, Chinese, burgers, hot dogs, etc. Vendor beverages featured beer, seltzers, NA, and sangria. Years past, I think you had to buy tickets to get food and drink and this year they seem to be shying away from that practice (thank gawd). We usually linger longer, but this year I think we left a little earlier than we expected.

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 festival ran for 4 days until Mon, Sep 7. Parking wasn't so bad... parking in the neighborhood…read moreand took 20 mins to walk to the stage. I listened to the LP Vinyl band and they were pretty good playing rock music. There is no admission charges. Food trucks were around a few appeared popular, and the lines were not long. It's a super nice neighborhood surrounded by Mike Rylko community park with lots of police presence. Note that the pool toilets are closed so you have to use the porta potty but at least there are the touchless water and there is soap. Worth attending if you live close by.

Another typical suburban festival -- carnival rides, mixed with music stages, and food tents, and…read moresometimes, business vendors. To be honest, I enjoy em, and this one, called Buffalo Grove Days, or what the cool kids call it -- "BG Days" is A-OK with me. I do like how this is well laid-out. There are shuttle buses to take/drop you to where you need to be. I didn't bother looking for parking and ended up parking at wherever the Buffalo Grove Days parking signs pointed to, which ended up being at the Buffalo Grove Metra station, which was free. I do have to say that the offering of carnival rides BG Days have, compared to the other copious amounts of suburban festivals, was less. It was actually hard to use up our 22-tickets (this year it was 22-tickets for $25) and I'm glad I didn't go with the unlimited rides for $25 each. The carnival games included pop-a-shot, lucky ducks, and other typical games. Food-wise, the food tent was actually pretty big. Lots to choose from, from pizza, to Mexican, to Dairy Queen. Food prices were A-OK and definitely not like the $40 for a piece of lettuce prices you'd find at the Taste of Chicago. BATHROOM REVIEW: The couple of port-a-potties we visited were actually pretty clean! Many to choose from and there was no line on the evening we went. Sit or squat? It's still a port-a-potty after all. Squat.

The Park Ridge Park District puts on an excellent October Fest the last Saturday of every…read moreSeptember. It is located in Hodges Park which is right in front of City Hall. The fest is free to enter, but there are charges for food, beer and kids activities. A wrist band for all the bouncy castles and kids games is only $5. There is plenty of parking in the neighborhood behind the event or you can try by the library. There is live music at night and plenty of activities during the day. There are a ton great food vendors including Holts, Harp and Fiddle and a few other places that serve German fare. The giant pretzels with dipping sauce were a hit and the beer list was extensive. Prices were pretty reasonable for a festival and the lines to get food/drinks were not bad at all. You could use credit cards for beer, but everything else was cash only. This is a great way to celebrate the beginning of fall and hang out in the park.