At least 25,000 people attended the Strawberry Fest 2026 in Long Grove over the three-day weekend starting on June 26.
The Friday opener had periods of rain showers but then the sun came out in time for a bright pink sky and golden hour sunset lighting. The rest of the weekend had decent weather.
“This year’s a big year and special for us,” said Ryan Messner of Barrington, Long Grove insurance business owner and president of the Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association (HDLGBA).
“It’s Strawberry Fest plus the 250 years of our country,” Messner said. “So we’re theming it America and Strawberry Fest.
“We want to enjoy what we have in the U.S. and obviously in Long Grove,” Messner added.
This year’s musical lineup included cover music by American artists, including main stage performer Daniel Cronson of Libertyville, who was raised in Long Grove and is a graduate of Lincolnshire’s Adlai E. Stevenson High School Class of 2008.
“This is my hometown and I’ll always love it,” Cronson said. “I love to see it full of people like this.”
New this year was a giant strawberry on the traditional heritage truck keepsake photo opportunity backdrop on Robert Parker Coffin Road.
It took five days of paper mache and “lots of tape” with other crafting supplies used by Messner’s wife Dana to make a permanent strawberry that was made to withstand the elements at future Strawberry Fests.
“I said (to Dana), ‘You have to make a strawberry for Long Grove,’ so she made a strawberry,” Messner said with a smile. “It’s awesome. It’s meant to keep on using.”
Dana Messner finished making the huge strawberry on Thursday, June 25 at 8 p.m., just in time for the Friday grand opener.
To his wife, Ryan Messner said, “Oh, she does an awesome job; she’s supportive.”
Does Dana Messner like strawberries?
“Of course she does,” Dana’s husband said. “She grows them; she’s got a big garden, so she loves them.”
Along with many people who queued for turns, posing for a photo opportunity in front of the large strawberry were Connie Grant of Buffalo Grove and Dave Charewicz of Park Ridge.
“It’s beautiful,” Grant said of Dana Messner’s handmade oversized strawberry.
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To Dana Messner, Grant added, “I want to say congratulations for your artistry because that’s the largest and most beautiful strawberry I have ever seen.
“Not going to be ruined by the rain,” Grant observed.
Charewicz said in wonderment, “She’s got the seeds in there, the whole thing.”
Grant said her compliment to Dana Messner, “comes from the heart, comes from the heart.”
For parent Anne Gavin of Lake Zurich and son Jordan, 5, a rising kindergartner, Strawberry Fest 2026 was the first Long Grove fest they attended.
“I love it,” Jordan’s mother said. “I love coming out to the fests.”
About learning about Dana Messner’s handcrafted strawberry, “It’s awesome, I think it’s really cool, we actually got a picture in front of it,” Anne Gavin said with a smile. “It’s amazing.”
Holding a pink balloon in her strawberry-themed dress and dancing to the main stage music on the Robert Parker Coffin Road midway was Ceci Fox, 5, a rising first-grader from Lake Villa.
Ceci wore matching dresses with her sister Evie, 3. Their parents, Sean and Courtney Fox, were in charge of the girls’ double stroller.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a child with my mother and now we’re bringing our girls every single year,” Courtney Fox said.
Carnival rides and sponsor booths on the midway attracted attendees. Food selections at Strawberry Fest included signature chocolate-covered strawberries and strawberry-infused beverages, plus more.
Sipping strawberry lemonade in the company of his sibling Aria Hwang, 10, a rising fifth-grader, and their parents John and Maria Hwang of Long Grove, was Reid Hwang, 8, a rising third-grader.
“I really like strawberries and it’s Strawberry Fest, so obviously, just always going with the theme and I really like strawberries,” Reid said.
Reid’s sister Aria said she liked the chocolate-covered strawberries. Their parents, John and Maria Hwang, both grew up in Mount Prospect and are both of the John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights Class of 2003.
“I’ve been coming to these festivals for years with my parents and now that we live here, we come to all of them,” Maria Hwang said. “We just love to be in the community and experience everything.”
To event volunteers, John Hwang said, “I’m appreciative of everyone’s time that they spend here and all of the effort that goes into putting this together so very appreciative of that.”
According to https://www.longgrove.org/festival/strawberry-fest/, entire festival proceeds assist in funding local improvements, including streetscaping, Covered Bridge Park maintenance, signage, banners and complimentary activities all year in Long Grove, such as winter holiday amenities.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.