Taste of Roselle returns for 43rd year with music, food and crafts
The Roselle Lions Club is hosting the village’s best block party this summer, the 43rd annual Taste of Roselle on Aug. 1-3, with live entertainment, carnival, bingo, food, and the craft fair.
The outdoor festival features a variety of food, craft beer and wine from Roselle businesses and beyond. There’s also free entertainment for everyone on three stages, daily bingo, and a kids carnival. While strolling down Main Street, visit local shops and businesses.
The three-day craft show will feature talented local artisans selling jewelry and accessories, hand-poured candles, seasonal wreaths, cozy blankets, one-of-a-kind clothing, plushies, floral arrangements, and more. They also will be offering face painting and henna tattoos.
The three-day “Hometown Block Party” will be 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2; and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, on Main Street between Prospect and Howard. Admission is free.
Main Stage entertainment
The Main Stage on the east end of Main Street opens on Friday with F.L.O.A.T. doing rock covers from 6-7:30 p.m., followed by Devon Delux, a 10-piece band performing eight decades of rock and pop hits, from 7:45 to 9:15 p.m. Mock Star, Chicago’s ultimate 1980s arena rock tribute, will hit the stage at 9:30 p.m.
On Saturday, the stage will open with students from the Schaumburg School of Rock from 1 to 3 p.m. Sounds of Good Life returns to the festival with their mixture of original songs and rock ‘n roll covers from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Old Stumpy will bring their Jamgrass-infused Bluegrass music to the stage from 4:45 to 6 p.m.
Voodoo Dolls will kick off the evening’s entertainment with an eclectic mix of covers from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m., followed by Bottled Blues with their soulful blues from 8 to 9:20 p.m. Festival favorite, Dixon Bandits, a Southern Rock tribute band, returns to close out the second day of the festival at 9:30 p.m.
On Sunday, the Christian Tabernacle Church’s Gospel Choir will open the final day of the three-day festival at noon. Live Pete performs old-time rock ‘n roll at 1:30 p.m., followed by Shukin & The Ramblers with their Rusty Roots Rock Review at 3:15 p.m. Tryptic will combine tasteful grooves with exploratory jams at 4:45 p.m.
Closing out the festival will be Good Gumbo, a Hippie Americana band with clever pop covers from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Showcase Plaza
The Showcase featuring local entertainment will be in the Petal Plaza on the west end of Main Street.
It will open at 6 p.m. Friday with a ceremony featuring the American Legion Post 1084 color guard and gun salute, the national anthem by Marc Cash and students, and opening words from Mayor David Pileski.
At 7 p.m., enjoy alt rock singer-songwriter Nick Wilkinson at 7 p.m., followed by Larry & The Alphabet Soup at 8:30 p.m. DJ Rixmix will close out the festival at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Join in Zumba with Anytime Fitness at 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Get groovin’ with the dancers from Relevé Performing Arts at 1 p.m. Saturday and Lights, Camera, Dancing at 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday
Katie Pelletier will perform acoustic pop/folk/country music at 3:45 p.m. Saturday, followed by “Roselle's Troubadour” Jim Bartholomew at 5 p.m. Lonesome Tony will perform blues and roots at 6:15 p.m. and Kenny Hechtman will be joined by special guests at 7:45 p.m.
On Sunday, guitarist El Cid will perform at 2:45 p.m., followed by Kenny Hechtman at 4 p.m. and Sammy Ray’s acoustic blues at 5:15 p.m. St. Joe Jack will be bringing acoustic dance and jazz to the stage at 8 p.m.
Bingo
The bingo tent will be at a new location on Prospect Street, next to the village hall near Elm Street. The Roselle Chamber of Commerce & Industry offers both adult and kids’ bingo.
Adult bingo will be 6 to 11 p.m. Friday, 3 to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Kids play can play for free with a food donation for the Bloomingdale Township Food Pantry from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Food vendors
From sweet treats to savory eats, festival organizers are welcoming back some of the crowd favorites, and introducing a few new additions. New food options include Da Pizza Company, Midwest Smoke BBQ, Sugar Rush Cotton Candy, Suzie’s Fun Foods, Sporty’s Restaurant and Catering, Sammy’s Mexican Grill, and Zhel’s Kitchen with Filipino food.
Other vendors include: Aunt Tina’s Sound Bites Food Truck, Cousins Maine Lobster, Doctor Dogs, DQ Roselle, Hawaiian Food Truck, Johnny G’s Meat and Deli, La Cebollita Grill, My Cocina Grill, Panziz Panzerotti, Tikki Terrace, and more.
For information, visit facebook.com/TasteOfRoselle/.