Long Grove Vintage Days is a shopper's delight
What began three years ago as a quaint event for vintage lovers has grown into one of Chicagoland's biggest summer tributes to not only historic riches, but historic fun, too.
On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 18-19, Vintage Days returns to downtown Long Grove to celebrate all things vintage, antique, reclaimed, repurposed, upcycled and handmade.
This signature Long Grove fest has grown by leaps and bounds each year, attracting thousands that turn out to enjoy classic family pleasures while shopping the region's leading makers and collectors of vintage goods.
Vintage Days offers everyone from the collector to the admirer a variety of products in an entertaining, open-air marketplace. In addition to dozens of vintage vendors, the free event features local food, wine and craft beer, live music, and an array of throwback entertainment.
Interactive activities include an old-fashioned penny carnival, face-painting, hayrides, and appearances by the renowned high-wheel bicycle club.
“This area proudly boasts a number of family-owned and operated shops that carry handmade, timeless products you can't find anywhere else,” says Kendra Perri, a member of the Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association.
“At Vintage Days, you have the chance to see, touch and purchase the best of it all in an entertaining, festival-like setting for the whole family.”
Long Grove's breakout event of 2016 is back for a third straight summer. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, more than 35 antique and vintage vendors will line the streets. Other vendors will sell local food, wine, sangria and craft beer. Helping set the vintage vibe at Vintage Days 2018 throughout the weekend will be the following:
• Live folk, bluegrass and classic rock music all day long, including Beatles, Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead tributes.
• A penny carnival — old fashioned games of skill, run by kids for kids — hosted from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday by the Long Grove Historical Society.
• Complimentary hayrides starting at noon Saturday and Sunday, taking riders throughout picturesque downtown Long Grove. Saturday hayrides will include narration by the Long Grove Historical Society.
• The Illinois Wheelmen, an antique high-wheel bicycle club, riding through town.
• A vintage Jeep car show.
• Shopping and dining options at the independently owned businesses throughout the downtown.
The festival is centered around 308 Old McHenry Road, Long Grove. Admission and parking are free. For details, visit <URL destination="">www.longgrove.org/festivals/vintage-days.