ItascaFest kicks off July 10 with drone light show
The Itasca Lions Club and the village of Itasca are introducing a Starstruck Drone Light Show on the first night of ItascaFest. The display will light up the night sky with coordinated drones creating dazzling shapes and animations at 9:15 p.m. Thursday, July 10, over Washington Park, 350 E. Irving Park Road. Enjoy food, rides, and live music with the Exit 147 Band from 7 to 10:30 p.m.
The annual family festival, now in its 36th year, features food, live music, entertaining performances, and the vibrant atmosphere of the carnival on Thursday to Sunday, July 10-13, at Washington Park.
Enjoy live music performances every night from a lineup of local and regional bands. The carnival will feature unlimited ride specials, perfect for families looking for a day of fun. A variety of food vendors will be on-site serving up classic festival favorites all weekend long.
Festival hours are 6 to 11 p.m. Thursday, 6 to 11:30 p.m. Friday, noon to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 11 p.m. Sunday. The carnival offers unlimited ride passes are $30-$35 at the gate.
Lester’s Family Entertainment will be 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday in the Family Tent. It includes the Reptile Roadshow, Dave Rudolph’s Crazy Fun Beach Party, Ali Hoop Artist Extraordinaire, and a Special Princess appearance.
Stop by the classic car show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday where you can check out a display of vintage and custom cars in Usher Park.
And for those feeling lucky, indoor cash bingo will be open throughout the weekend in the Itasca Park District gymnasium. It will be 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The music stage will open on Friday with Big Brother’s Vinyl from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by 7th Heaven from 9 to 11 p.m.
On Saturday, July 12, Form returns to Itasca Fest with their original music and alternative and blues rock covers from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by Jessie's Girl re-creating ’80s rock from 6 to 8 p.m. and headliner Jimmy Nick playing old school blues from 9 to 11 p.m.
On Sunday, Throwback Jukebox will bring back the sounds of 1950s and ’60s rock & roll from 3 to 4:30 p.m., followed by Rick Lindy & the Wild Ones from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Brass from the Past will close out the festival with a mixture of Motown, R&B, soul and rock from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.
For the festival lineup and details, visit itasca.com or itascalionsclub.org. There will be two entrances: Irving Park Road and Washington Street. There is accessible parking at the Raymond Benson Primary School east parking lot.