Midwest travel: Snack, stroll at West Town Food Truck Social & Art Walk
Chicago
Eat your art out
What could be better than a snack-and-stroll event in one of Chicago's coolest neighborhoods? The West Town Food Truck Social & Art Walk takes place along the busy Chicago Avenue corridor with visual art, music, culinary creations and fashion showcased within 35 shops, businesses, restaurants and galleries. There will be free family-friendly activities like chalk drawing fun; a "Cool Car Show"; performance art; and free beer tastings from participating Art Walk retailers. The West Town Food Truck Social will feature samples from trucks like Aztec Dave's; Bruges Brothers; Carnivale; Corner Farmacy; The Happy Lobster; Pierogi Wagon; Tamale Spaceship; Yum Dum and others. Food Truck Social: 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Art Walk: 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, in Chicago's West Town. foodtrucksocial.biz/ and westtownartwalk.com/.
Mollusk madness
You know the window for enjoying an evening outdoors is closing, so head to River North and the 28th annual Oyster Fest presented by Shaw's Crab House. Enjoy live music from four local blues bands, including headliner Bumpus as well as fresh seafood like shrimp cocktail, Alaskan King Crab bites, smoked trout dip, clam chowder, jambalaya, po'boy sandwiches, crabcakes and lots of fresh oysters from both coasts. Craft beer, wine, cocktails and soft drinks will help wash it all down. There's also a 3 to 5 p.m. happy hour with $3 Founders Brewing Co. beers. 3 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at Hubbard and Rush Street, Chicago. Admission is $20, kids 12 and younger get in free. Food and beverage are additional and can be purchased by buying Oyster Bucks at the fest. Get tickets and info at oysterfestchicago.com/.
Working for the weekend
Thompson Chicago in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood invites you to extend your weekend with the hotel's two new packages. Sunday Funday, Rest on Monday package includes a 20 percent discount on your Sunday stay and a bottle of prosecco. On Monday, enjoy in-room breakfast from Nico Osteria and a late check-out at 2 p.m. Or consider the Not Your Typical Weekend package available on Sunday and Monday overnight stays, affording you a 20 percent discount on your stay and tickets for two to the Museum of Contemporary Art and the TILT attraction at 360 Chicago. Both packages are based on availability. Available now through March 31, 2017, at Thompson Chicago, 21 E. Bellevue, Chicago. Book the Sunday Funday package using the code "FUNDAY." Book the Not Your Typical Weekend package using the code "WEEKEND." Make reservations at (312) 266-2100 or thompsonhotels.com/hotels/thompson-chicago.
Midwest
October feast of family fun
Oktoberfest at Iowa's Amana Colonies village may be one of the busiest fall fests in the Midwest. Be the first to finish eating a foot-long brat and win a gift certificate to the Amana Meat Shop; watch the official keg tapping and enjoy free beer until the keg is empty; and take a guided tour to get a closer look at how Amana furniture and clocks are handcrafted. Take in demonstrations at Iowa's only working woolen mill; watch the creation of traditional blankets; enjoy carriage rides through the historic streets of Amana; and listen to live music while munching on Amana brats, fudge samples, hot dogs and Oktoberfest beer. There will be lots of activities for kids at Kidinderplatz, and all ages will enjoy the Oktoberfest Parade. Noon to midnight Friday, Sept. 30; 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday, Oct. 1; and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, in Amana Colonies, Amana, Iowa. Festhalle entertainment is $10 for a one-day pass, $15 for a two-day pass. festivalsinamana.com/oktoberfest.html.
How now Brown county
Take it as easy as you want to with the Back Roads of Brown County Studio Tour, a relaxing, self-guided tour held during the entire month of October. The tour is designed to showcase the natural, quiet beauty of Brown County, Indiana, and the talents of its creative residents who continue the cultural heritage of "The Art Colony of the Midwest." A select group of artisans open their studios for demonstrations, so you can meet the artists in a relaxed atmosphere and have an opportunity to purchase fine arts and crafts. The self-guided tour is free, and a detailed map will help you find your way through the county's rolling hills. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily Oct. 1-31 at various studios throughout Brown County, Indiana. Call The Brown County Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) 753-3255 or see browncountystudiotour.com/falltour2016.htm.
Smell that?
There's something brewing in the crocks and jugs in Reedsburg, Wisconsin: a festival celebrating everything cultured or fermented. The sixth annual Fermentation Fest - A Live Culture Convergence is a multifaceted food and farming festival highlighting the Wisconsin countryside and live culture from dance to yogurt, poetry to sauerkraut. Get a map to follow or bike the Farm/Art DTour through Sauk County's farm country, see temporary art installations and pasture performances, then meet chefs, scientists, brewers and cheesemakers who offer vats of classes and tastings about fermented foods, beneficial bacteria and the rural renaissance. Reedsburg is 55 miles northwest of Madison, in rural south-central Wisconsin. Oct. 1-9 in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. For a schedule of events and to sign up for classes, see fermentationfest.com/about-the-fest.