Highwood Festival Days helps celebrate city’s 125th year
The Highwood Chamber of Commerce will host its 44th Annual Highwood Festival Days Thursday through Sunday, July 26-29, in the Metra Parking Lot in downtown Highwood.
The four-day, family-friendly extravaganza will include carnival rides and games, local food vendors, drinks, live music, raffle prizes and more.
This year marks a special occasion for Festival Days, as the City of Highwood celebrates its 125th anniversary. In commemoration, a grand parade with a classic old-time feel of Highwood will march through the streets of downtown at noon Sunday.
“We have a great lineup of entertainment every night and it will be a lot of fun for the entire family,” said Lenny Innocenzi, chamber of commerce member and owner of Buffo’s Italian Restaurant in Highwood.
“We’re having food booths, entertainment, rides, a beer and wine tent, and we’re bringing back the old fashioned Highwood Days with the parade. The festival will bring together people of all ages, reminiscing of the days of Highwood past. It is the longest running festival around.”
The grand parade will begin at the corner of Clay and Sheridan Road and travel south on Sheridan to Bloom, west on Bloom, under the viaduct to Green Bay Road, north on Green Bay to Highwood Avenue, west on Highwood, ending in the library parking lot.
Musical entertainment will include: Billy Croft and the 5 Alarm from 7-10:30 p.m. Thursday, July 26; 8 Miles South from 7:30-11:30 p.m. Friday, July 27; Charlie Love from 4:30-7:30 p.m. and The Rockin’ Fenderskirts from 8:30-11:30 p.m. Saturday, July 28; a special musical tribute to local Highland Park musician John Juul, who recently passed, from 12:30-2 p.m., Jose Valdes from 3-5 p.m., and Spoken Four from 6-9 p.m. Sunday, July 29.
Highwood Festival Days will be raffling off a 2012 red Vespa Scooter and three cash prizes of $500, $200 and $100 at 8 p.m. Sunday. Winner need not be present. Raffle tickets are available for $5 or five for $20 at Highwood’s Evening Gourmet Farmers Market from 4-9 p.m. Wednesdays at Everts Park, or at local businesses Buffo’s, The Toadstool Pub, Bank of Highwood, and Jen Z’s.
Highwood Festival Days will run, rain or shine, the last weekend in July: 6-11 p.m. Thursday, July 26; 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, July 27; 3 p.m. to midnight Saturday, July 28; and 1-9 p.m. Sunday, July 29. Attendees of all ages can purchase special unlimited ride wristbands for $25 Thursday and Friday; $30 on Sunday. Individual ride tickets will be available for purchase every day.
For details, visit www.celebratehighwood.com or call the Highwood Chamber of Commerce at (847) 433-2100.