After a move to August last year due to the pandemic, the Libertyville Days Festival returns to its usual June date this year. Once again, it offers just about everything anyone could want in a summer festival, with live music, carnival rides, kids’ activities, and just about any kind of food you would want to eat outside.
“We say it’s a ‘Celebration for Everyone,’ and it really is true,” said Anne Carlino, executive director of the Libertyville Civic Center Foundation, which organizes the festival. “It’s packed with different activities. No matter your age or interest, you’ll find something to do.”
The four-day festival, which begins on June 16 and runs through June 19 in downtown Libertyville and Cook Park. You’ll find two live music stages, two beer gardens and a packed schedule of events ranging from beanbag tournaments to karaoke. There’s even a parade through downtown Libertyville to kick off the day at 10 a.m. June 18.
Hours are 5-11 p.m. June 16; 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m. June 17 and 18; and noon-5:30 p.m. June 19.
“The parade is usually one of the highlights of the festival,” Carlino said. “We have over 80 entries, with a lot of marching bands and horses. It’s a big attraction that people really support.”
The event, in its current iteration, has been going on for more than 20 years. It was previously known as the Frontier Days festival before that, which in turn succeeded other local festivals in downtown Libertyville.
“You could probably go back a hundred years to when this festival started,” Carlino said. “It’s always been our big event, and obviously it’s changed a lot over the years, but it’s still something that we put a lot of work into, and people have supported it. It’s a big part of the community.”
The GooRoos, a six-piece known for its classic rock and dance covers, will take the main stage at 7 p.m. June 16. Headlining the June 17 main stage acts will be Soul Kitchen, a blues band that covers artists including Joss Stone, Aretha Franklin, Joe Cocker and Marc Broussard. The popular Chicago-area group Sneezy returns to the Libertyville Days festival with its entertaining mix of funk and soul on June 18, while rock and blues singer Ivy Ford will close the show June 19.
An arts and crafts fair will be held in Cook Park June 17-19, with vendors displaying a wide variety of artwork. The carnival, held in the municipal parking lot, runs all four days of the festival.
“It’s an impressive carnival with a giant Ferris wheel placed right at the corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Church Street, which attracts a lot of attention in the downtown area,” Carlino said.
Last year they added a second beer garden to create more room for social distancing, but organizers liked the results so much that they’re bringing it back again this year.
“There’s just a lot of room now for people to spread out and enjoy the refreshments and food,” Carlino said. “It’s a comfortable area where you can spend time relaxing.”
Other highlights of the festival include demonstrations (like home beer making or hair braiding), dancing performances, kids’ activities and a rib cook-off. The festival attracts about 40,000 people each year, but parking is usually available close to the festival grounds at the parking garages downtown.
The festival raises funds for the Libertyville Civic Center Foundation, which provides a gathering space for people in the community at reasonable rates. It’s backed by a small army of volunteers who, Carlino said, makes the event possible every year.
“It’s a big undertaking, but I’m always impressed with the support of the volunteers,” she said. “We’ve been doing this for so long because the people love it and so many of them volunteer their time to make it happen.”
Libertyville Days Festival
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When: June 16-19
Where: Cook Park, 413 N. Milwaukee Ave., and downtown Libertyville
Tickets: Free
Information: 847-918-8880; libciviccenter.org
Jeff Banowetz is a freelance reporter in the News-Sun.