Bite into Strawberry Fest this weekend in Long Grove

Long Grove's annual homage to strawberry season returns this weekend.

Long Grove Strawberry Fest is one of the Midwest's biggest festivals showcasing all things strawberry. It runs 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 22-24, in downtown Long Grove, 308 Old McHenry Road, and the surrounding area.

Admission is $5 per person and free for children younger than 12. Well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome as well.

Although the festival begins and ends with the almighty strawberry, in no way is it an exclusive strawberry party. There will be something for every taste bud at this year's festival, and plenty of entertainment, including three stages of live music, the classic Kid Zone with children's entertainment and games, and local shops hawking one-of-a-kind products.

"Strawberry Fest is the epitome of summer fun in Chicago," said Kendra Perri, an event organizer with the Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association. "It's a mix of summer foods, summer tunes and summer games, with a charming small town as the backdrop."

The first area of attraction at Strawberry Fest is the strawberries. Some of the area's best restaurants and chefs participate with unique strawberry-centric foods and drinks. This year, featured items available for purchase include strawberry barbecue sauces, deep fried strawberries on a stick, chocolate strawberry popcorn, strawberry kebabs, strawberry jams, strawberry fudge, funnel cakes with strawberries, strawberry smoothies, strawberry blintz, strawberry banana Nutella crepes, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry doughnuts, strawberry shakes, strawberry ice cream, chocolate strawberry sundaes, and more.

In respect to non-strawberry eats, a variety of vendors will be on-hand dishing out barbecue and other summer delights.

Next is the live music featuring three stages of nonstop, high quality tunes. Main stage headliners include '80s and '90s cover group Wedding Banned on Friday, '80s rock powerhouse Hi Infidelity on Saturday, and the Grateful Dead tribute Mr. Blotto on Sunday. The full music lineup can be found online at longgrove.org/festivals/strawberry-festival/.

For the kids, Strawberry Fest organizers have planned old-school activities all weekend long in the Kid Zone, sponsored by Long Grove Confectionery and taking place in front of its new storefront, 114 Old McHenry Road.

Activities include Medieval Times junior knight training, bags, spin art coloring, face painting, strawberry crafts, ongoing strawberry pie-eating competitions, and more.

To cap off the festival, a full carnival - with all the classic rides and games from Fantasy Amusements - will be held in the Archer parking lot.