Round Lake Beach’s three-day Elote Festival drew an estimated 32,000 attendees over the weekend.
The festival is named after elote, Mexican street corn that is either eaten off the cob or with the corn sliced and served in a bowl. Toppings like mayonnaise, spices, and shredded cheese make it a popular and memorable dish.
Aside from the corn, the festival featured a carnival, vendors, live music, a drone show, and other kinds of food, all at the Round Lake Beach Cultural & Civic Center.
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“We strive to make Elote Fest bigger and better every year, and 2026 is no exception,” Round Lake Beach Mayor Scott Nickles said. “We have loaded up on the food; our musical acts and headliners are bigger than ever before, and the drone show is always amazing.
“Elote Fest has grown to become one of the top celebrations in Lake County,” he said. “I love how this event brings our community outside and together year after year.”
Friday night featured the Elote Festival Queen Pageant, which took place on stage in the auditorium.
“We couldn’t be more proud of the event,” Nickles told the pageant audience. “Elote, with our demographics and our cultural environment here, it was a great thing, and I’m excited that we’ve done it and grown it every year. Not only has the pageant grown, the festival has grown.
“It’s always something that no one wants to miss in Lake County,” the mayor added.
Four contestants competed, two for Miss Elote Festival Queen 2026 and two for Little Miss Elote Festival 2026. Each crowned contestant was awarded a scholarship, courtesy of the village.
Miss Elote Festival Queen 2025 Yaileen Diaz Gomez said of relinquishing her crown and sash, “It is a bittersweet moment, but I am happy.”
Diaz Gomez ultimately crowned Miss Elote Festival Queen 2026 Breana Mendoza, 21. Natalia Hernandez, 12, was crowned Little Miss Elote Festival Queen 2026.
Shortly after being crowned, the two winners described how they like their elote.
“Everything on it — mayo, lime, seasoning, all the fixings, on the cob,” Mendoza said.
Natalia said she likes her elote with “mayo, cheese and Tajín (spicy seasoning), and that’s all.”
Mendoza said of the event, “I think it’s incredibly important to do things like this. I think it brings our community together. I think we are such a tight-knit community, and I think we learn from each other every single day.”
Outside, people could sit on the graduated lawn in front of the stage to hear the opening act, Salsavera Musica Pa Goza. People were seen dancing as the sun was setting.
One of the vocalists was Jazmin Cardoza of Waukegan. Wearing dazzling bright pink, Cardozo was seen waving to the crowd. Jazmin’s brother Manuel, also of Waukegan, was in the audience to support a sibling’s performance.
“I’m beyond proud,” he said of his sister. “She’s always been singing since we were little, so I always knew she was going to do something like that. She takes up the stage.”
Shortly after the festival opened, lines grew long as customers wanted to try quesadillas, pizza, ice cream, and elote. There were also merchandise tents, with handcrafted items and popular pop culture toys and plushies.
Head chef of Quesadillas Michoacanas Sandra Camarena made tortillas by hand, using a flattening device on the dough before the circular tortillas went on the grill.
“We love the event,” she said.
Lalo Morales, head chef at Tamale Co. of Gurnee, a pop-up kitchen, revealed the secret to good elote: It must “be made with love.”
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