Itasca Fest offers music, fun for every taste and age
If you like antique cars, a cappella music, beer, carnival rides or bingo, Itasca Fest has you covered.
Same goes for fans of hard rock, heavy metal, pizza, chicken teriyaki and jazz.
The festival is expected to draw 40,000 visitors over a four-day run from Thursday to Sunday, July 13 to 16, to the festival grounds at Washington Park on Irving Park Road. Admission is free and street parking is available.
Itasca Lions Club member Michael Subers said the event offers something for all ages and is a good way for family and friends to spend time together while taking in a summer celebration.
The fest, presented by the Lions Club, in cooperation with the village, helps fund the nonprofit group's philanthropic projects, Subers said. Collection boxes for discarded eyeglasses, which the Lions Club recycles, will be available in the beer tent and bingo hall.
“The Lions actually run the whole show. It's really a Lions event. It's one of the biggest,” said Subers, the village's utilities superintendent. “We're really focused on the family.”
The midway will feature games and rides for thrill-seekers of all levels.
“We have a huge carnival. They've got stuff for little kids. They've got bigger rides for big kids,” Subers said. “It's really an awesome carnival.”
Subers said the Itasca Brewing Company will be on hand with microbrews and about a dozen food vendors will offer sandwiches, ribs, pizza and burritos along with sweet treats such as funnel cakes and lemonade.
Bingo games will be played in the air-conditioned Itasca Park District gym from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Thursday, 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Fest highlights include a U.S. Army tactical display from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday and noon to 8 p.m. Saturday; an old-fashioned flea market from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Usher Park; a classic car show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday on Bloomingdale Road near Usher Park; and a health fair from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday in the park district gym.
Music performances begin with a 7 p.m. Thursday show featuring The Arlingtones, an a cappella group, followed at 7:30 p.m. by a hard rock show with Lava Rock, a band that does covers of Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Van Halen tunes.
Anthem delivers classic rock at 7 p.m. Friday, followed at 10 p.m. Friday by a heavy metal show with My Metal Heart. A blues rock show featuring Saturday's headliner, Jimmy Nick and Don't Tell Mama, begins at 10 p.m. Saturday.
Sunday afternoon's music starts with a 1 p.m. performance by the Pullman Jazz Society. An early evening show by The Meteors, a band that brings back the hits of the mid-'60s, starts at 5:30 p.m., warming up the crowd for American English's Beatles tribute beginning at 8:30 p.m.
The festival also will offer children's activities, a petting zoo and pony rides.
Itasca Fest
When: 6 to 11 p.m. Thursday, July 13; 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, July 14; 8 a.m. to midnight Saturday, July 15; 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday, July 16
Where: Washington Park, 350 E. Irving Park Road, Itasca
Admission: Free
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