Guide to Chicago Fall Festivals

Chicago fall festivals such as Oktoberfest in Naperville, Monster Madness in Lisle, and Navy Fear at Navy Pier, are plentiful this harvest season throughout the Chicagoland region.

Oktoberfest is downtown Naperville’s fall festival October 5 through 7, 2007. Hours are 6 to 10pm on Friday, Noon to 11pm on Saturday, and Noon to 6pm on Sunday. Naperville’s Oktoberfest activities include authentic German food and beer, German music and dancing. Family Day is Sunday October 7 sponsored by the Heritage YMCA. Children are admitted for free on Family Day and general admission to Oktoberfest costs $5. The Illinois Festival Association named Naperville’s Oktoberfest “Best Fall Fest in Illinois.” Proceeds from the Rotary Club-sponsored German Fall Festival benefit local charities.

The Chicago suburb of Elmhurst offers Family Fun Fest featuring Safety Town Trick or Treating on Saturday October 6, 2007 from 10am to 1pm. The fall festival is at the Depot at 511 York Road. Fall festival family activities include pumpkin carving and decorating, games, face painting, pony ride, and petting zoo and more. Admission to Family Fun Fest is free and some of the events cost money.

Navy Pier on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Chicago presents Navy Fear sponsored by CVS Pharmacy this 2007 Halloween season. Navy Fear is open October 5 to 8, 12 to 14, 19 to 21, and 24 to 31. Demons of the Deep, intended for children ages 8 and older and Ghostly Gardens for children under 8, are two separately priced Halloween attractions. Shock on the Dock is a free, frightening walk down Dock Street. Friday nights in October are called Friday Frights and fireworks light up Navy Pier and Lake Michigan at 9pm.

The Katherine Legge Memorial Lodge at 5901 South County Line Road in Hinsdale offers a Fall Festival with traditional harvest activities. Pumpkin carving, scary stories, seasonal games, a petting zoo, and more fall festivities take place on Sunday October 7, 2007 from 12:30pm to 4:30pm.

Monster Madness is a fall festival for families at the Meadows Center at 5801 Westview Lane in Lisle. The Chicagoland fall festival offers traditional harvest activities including hay rides, pony rides, a pumpkin patch, carnival games and prizes, and a petting zoo. Monster Madness fall festival is from 6 to 9pm on Friday, October 12, 2007.

Halloween Happening is the City of Chicago’s free fall festival on Saturday October 20, 2007. A Halloween parade begins on State Street and Lake Avenue and can be joined by children in costumes. Trick or treating, a costume contest, and other fall festival activities follow the parade which starts at Noon.

Brookfield Zoo’s Boo! At the Zoo celebrates Halloween with a costume show, parade, haunted hayride, creepy animals, and more fall fun activities. Boo! At the Zoo runs on Saturdays and Sundays October 20, 21, 27, and 28, 2007 starting at 11am. This fall festival is a family friendly event catered towards children who receive a bag of Halloween treats as they leave.

North Chicago’s Greenbelt Cultural Center offers families and kids a safe and friendly Halloween atmosphere with Trick or Treat Trails. This fall festival offers Halloween movies, ghost stories, mask making, haunted trails, and more from 3 to 5pm on Sunday, October 28, 2007. Trick or Treat Trails free fall event recommended for children 12 and under.

Lombard Common Park hosts a Fall Festival on Saturday October 20 from 2 to 9pm. Fun fall activities include a free pumpkin patch between 2 and 5pm, Boo Bingo between 5 and 7pm, and a Haunted Hike from 7 to 9pm.

Six Flags Great America, in Gurnee Illinois, presents Fright Fest weekends during October, 2007. Thrill rides are open and the amusement park turns haunted with added haunted attractions such as the Coffin of Fear and Wheel of Fright. The TV personality Svengooglie will be the parade’s Grand Marshall the afternoon of Saturday, October 13.