Strawberry Festival 2018

Historic Downtown Long Grove’s annual homage to strawberry season is one of the annual summer highlights in Chicagoland.  Beloved by children and adults alike, Strawberry Fest consists of three consecutive days dedicated to all things strawberry, from cooks doling out strawberry BBQ to hungry young bellies competing in strawberry pie-eating contests.  Although the festival begins and ends with the almighty strawberry, in no way is it an exclusive strawberry party.  There will be something for every taste bud at Strawberry Fest 2018, including a classic carnival, wonderful shopping at the local stores and pop-up craft and merchant booths (see below for listing), three stages of live music, and the legendary Kid Zone with enduring summer entertainment and games.

The first area of attraction at Strawberry Fest is, well, the strawberries.  Some of the area’s best restaurants and chefs set up shop to serve up unique strawberry-centric food and drink.  This year, featured items include: strawberry BBQ sauces, deep fried strawberries on a stick, chocolate strawberry popcorn, strawberry kabobs, strawberry jams, strawberry fudge, funnel cakes with strawberries, strawberry smoothies, strawberry blintz, strawberry banana Nutella crepes, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry donuts, strawberry shakes, strawberry ice cream, chocolate strawberry sundaes, and much more.  In respect to non-strawberry eats, a wide variety of vendors will be on-hand dishing out everything from BBQ to other summer delights.

Next is the live music.  With three stages of non-stop, high-quality tunes, there’s “never a dull moment.”  Main stage headliners include 80’s & 90’s cover group, Wedding Banned (Friday), 80’s rock powerhouse, High Infidelity (Saturday), and the Grateful Dead tribute, Mr. Blotto (Sunday).  The full music lineup can be found below.

For the kiddos, Strawberry Fest organizers are planning thrilling activities all weekend long in the Kid Zone (across from Village Tavern), including: Medieval Times Jr. Knight Training, dance performances, bag sets, spin art coloring, face painting, crafts, and much more.  There will be ongoing strawberry pie-eating competitions on Saturday and Sunday for both kids and adults.  To cap it off, a full carnival – with classic carnival rides and games from Fantasy Amusements – will be held the Archer parking lot all three days.

No strawberry picking here- but we do have a farm selling fresh strawberries – it’s a street festival!

We are a dog-friendly community – if your dogs are well-behaved and on a leash.  There is a water bowl and treats (along with waste bags) located outside the visitor’s center – 308 Old McHenry Road.

June 22, 23, 24

Dates/ Hours:
June 22:  Friday, 11am – 11 pm
June 23:  Saturday, 10am – 11pm
June 24:  Sunday,  10 am – 6 pm

Admission:
$5 per person per day, kids 12 and under get in free.

Tickets (can be purchased at the gate or ahead of time)
$5 per day for anyone over 12
3 Day passes (save $5 per person! – available online only)  http://bit.ly/STRAW_3day
Friday:  http://bit.ly/STRAW_Fri
Saturday:  http://bit.ly/STRAW_Sat
Sunday:  http://bit.ly/STRAW_Sun

PIE EATING CONTESTS:
Towner Green – Kids Area
Sign up at the Red Long Grove Confectionery Tent
Saturday:  1:30pm & 3:30pm
Sunday:  1:30pm & 3:30pm

Parking is FREE at all public lots:
Stempel Municipal Lot – 360 Historical Lane, Long Grove, IL 60047
Archer Lot – 343 Old McHenry Road, Long Grove, IL 60047
Kildeer Countryside Elementary School – 3100 Old McHenry Road, Long Grove, IL 60047
SHUTTLE BUS SERVICES STARTING at 12:30pm Saturday & Sunday:
Buffalo Grove Old Dominick’s Lot
Chase Plaza
1172 Lake Cook Rd. (intersection Lake Cook Rd. & Arlington Heights)
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Saturday 12:30pm-11pm
Sunday 12:30pm-6pm
The last shuttle will leave 5 – 10 minutes after the event closes.

CARNIVAL HOURS/ SPECIALS

Friday           11AM – 8 PM*     $20 Unlimited rides** 11AM – 4PM & 5PM – 8PM
Saturday      11AM – 9 PM*      $20 Unlimited rides** 11AM – 4PM & 5PM – 9PM
Sunday         11AM – 6 PM*      $20 Unlimited rides** 11AM – 5PM

*subject to change based on weather and crowd size
**Wristbands not available during inclement weather and sales end 1 hour prior to end of event time

Location:
Downtown Long Grove, 308 Old McHenry Rd, Long Grove, IL 60047

Music at the Gazebo – outside Signature Popcorn & Covered Bridge Creamery:
Friday:
1:30-3:30  Trey Hobbs Country Trio
4:00-6:00  Bruce Moon
6:30-8:30  The TMNT Quartet

The Food:

Long Grove Merchants will be featuring:

Signature Popcorn:
Chocolate covered strawberry popcorn

Long Grove Confectionery:
Donuts, kabobs, strawberry shortcake, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry lemonade, Strawberry Ice Cream Bars (in store) Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (in Store)

The Olive Tap:
delicious Strawberry Balsamic Vinegars

UnWined:
Strawberry Watermelon Sangria, made with a Sparkling Mint Rose
Champagne Strawberry Jello Shots
Strawberry Tiramisu layered with mascarpone and ladyfingers dipped in Port wine

Village Tavern of Long Grove:
Fresh squeezed lemonade & strawberry vodka mason jar coolers, strawberry brownie boat sundaes, strawberry cupcakes, Godiva chocolate covered strawberry martini, old fashion strawberry shortcake and strawberry caesar salad.  

Morkes Chocolate of Long Grove:
Strawberry topped chocolate brownie and a strawberry cake donut, chocolate covered strawberries

Country House of Long Grove:
Strawberry slicer and pitcher with strawberry sangria (Lions Club serving outside the store)

Buffalo Creek Brewery:
Red Headed Step Child (our rendition of a German Strawberry Blond) is on tap!

Food Street Vendors – open until 11pm: 

Thank you to our sponsors:

Merchants/ Crafters/ Vendor booths
(most stay open until approximately 7pm-ish):

A Spice Above
All Tied Up Boutique
Amber and silver
BANANA-LEAF ART PROJECT
BG Hats and More
Black Angel Designs
Broken Earth  – available year round in downtown Long Grove
Buffalo Creek Brewery – available year round in downtown Long Grove
Calla Love
CC’s Specialty Foods Inc.
Chicago Wax Hands
Chuck Senties Productions
Coconut Critters
Colson Cotton Candy
Covered Bridge Creamery / SIgnature Popcorn –  available year round in downtown Long Grove
Creative Hands
Cutco Cutlery
Designs By Myra
Dylan’s Designs Inc
Eden Jewels & Accessories
Ethnic fusion
Face painting by Mr.Krist
FAESTUDIOS
Folklore Crafts
Frank’s Farms
Gourmet Goodies
Grin And Wear It / GAWI Ent.
Henna by Bridget
J&K Essentials
JJ Salsa
Jo Sales
just for fun novelties
Kitchen Craft
Literary Alterations
Long Grove Coffee Co. –  available year round in downtown Long Grove
Long Grove Confectionary –  available year round in downtown Long Grove
Lovin’ Tails
LulaRoa – Susan
Luv Your Doggie
MAGICAL CREATIONS
Mellie’s Chocolate & Co.
Midwest Citrus Smashers
MION Artisan Soap
Morkes 1 RPC
My Urban Poncho
Name Droppers
Natural Element Jewelry Designs
Nectar of the Vine
No Obsticle Marketing
Nothing Bundt Cakes
Olive Tap –  available year round in downtown Long Grove
OMG! Olive Oils
Pop Can Jewelry
Real Time Pain Relief
redefined salon –  available year round in downtown Long Grove opening later this year!
Roots Therapeutic Academy
sandeezjewelry&Embroidery
Silver Mine
Sno Daze Tropical Sno
Strawberry Patch
The Sheet Lady 1
tori’s bitty bows
TPRChicago
Wacky Wonderworks
Whole Earth