A Crystal Lake-based food truck and a Lemont restaurant beat out dozens of competitors for the best burger and are now in the championship round in WGN radio’s first-ever Chicago’s Very Own Eats: Best Burgers Tournament.

Try the Mega Hike at Starved Rock State Park.

The Taylor Swift–themed event is a celebration of community, music and local businesses.

The festive event will feature garden tours, hayrides, kids activities, live music, beer, food and more.

New at this year's festival is the addition of Taste of Downtown, which runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Brink Street.

Audiences will be treated to a hit-packed setlist featuring fan favorites such as “You’re No Good,” “It’s So Easy,” “That’ll Be the Day” and more.

The much-anticipated fall festival features a carnival, fireworks, parade, craft show, water fights, live music and so much more.

The fall fun festival will open in Lake Zurich on Sept. 26 in Paulus Park, 200 S. Rand Road. Jack O’Lantern World in Lemont, to be held at The Forge Lemont Quarries, 227 Heritage Quarries Drive, will open for its first year Oct. 2.

Burger fans have until 6 a.m. Monday to vote for Smash’D Burgers and Fries, a food truck owned by a Crystal Lake man competing in WGN radio’s first-ever “Chicago’s Very Own Eats: Best Burgers Tournament.”

McHenry will host its first chalk art festival Sunday, called Chalkwalk, at Miller Point Park and the Riverwalk.

The southern Will County vineyard will host a grape stomp event on Saturday, Sept. 27.

The night of comedy will dive into the hilarious realities of motherhood, midlife, marriage, dating and everything in between.

The festival opens Thursday, Sept. 18 and runs through Saturday, Sept. 20 in downtown Aurora.

With country star Luke Bryan's Farm Tour headed to little Prairie Grove on Friday, Sept. 19, the community will have 50 police officers to direct traffic and help move an estimated 20,000 fans into and out of the area.

Hayride of Horror and Curse of the Bayou run on Fridays, Saturdays and select Sundays in October at Dellwood Park in Lockport.

The cult classic film will be shown at its original filming location in Joliet on Oct. 4.

Beer, Bands and Barns, an outdoor music and brews festival, is Saturday, Sept. 20 at Dickson-Murst Farm in Montgomery.

In addition to the extensive wine selection, attendees can enjoy live music, browse wares from local vendors and sample food from local food trucks.

The Guild in downtown Wheaton will offer breakfast, lunch and small and shareable dishes for dinner.

The rural Oglesby farm provides a unique agritourism experience.

The fundraiser features wine and craft beer tastings, food, and live music.

The MAC, located on the College of DuPage campus in Glen Ellyn, opens its 2025-26 season with Steve Solomon's 'My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy' Sept. 28.

National Cheeseburger Day is Thursday, Sept. 18.

The Goodfellas Cigar Lounge Facebook page describes the business as a tobacco store and hookah lounge featuring “the largest selection of cigars in the Joliet area.”

Robinson, a guitar virtuoso who's played with Emmylou Harris, Kenny Rogers, Chris Stapleton and more, will perform Saturday, Oct. 4.

Lisa Ann Walter is known for her role as Melissa Schemmenti on ABC’s smash hit “Abbott Elementary."

Additional shows include "Annie," "9 to 5" and "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story."

First Pour Fridays events feature wine, small bites and live music at the new Patrick J. Callahan Community Center.

The star of the brunch menu is The Greggory’s Big Baller Brunch, which includes a cooked-to-perfection 32-ounce Senku Wagyu Tomahawk, a buttermilk pancake tower with all the fixings, eight eggs any style, crispy hash browns and bottomless mimosas.

Plein air painting, which derives its name from the French term for “painting outdoors,” originated in the 19th century when artists began leaving their studios to capture natural light and scenery firsthand.

The 10th Annual Elmhurst Craft Beer Fest will make its return Saturday, September 13 outdoors at the Elmhurst History Museum

Homegrown: The Zac Brown Band Tribute Experience will perform Sept. 12 at Raue Center for the Arts in Crystal Lake.

This year's selections include 'The Lost Boys,' 'Night of the Living Dead' and more.

Water Street Studios in Batavia will celebrate their 16th anniversary on Friday, Sept. 12.

The band will perform classic oldies songs with modern energy Friday, Sept. 12 on the Joliet Area Historical Museum's rooftop.

The show will feature hilarious and talented comedians sharing their unique experiences, anecdotes and frustrations about school life and being an educator.

West coast winemaker Dave Merfeld of Northstar Winery continues to promote Merlot, the often-maligned wine varietal.

Timber Lake Playhouse closes its 2025 main stage season with "The Bridges of Madison County," onstage from Sept. 12 to 21, 2025.

Pluto Fest is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Streator City Park, while the Fall Food Truck Festival is 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. just south of the park. Both events are on Saturday, Sept. 13.

Guests will hear accounts of unexplained occurrences experienced not only by the Grams family, who own the museum, but also by employees and visitors over the decades.

Experience some real-life haunts at the historic Egyptian Theatre in downtown DeKalb.

Highlights include tributes to Cher, hip-hop music, classic country singers and performers from 'America's Got Talent.'

Attendees will “take a culinary tour of Lockport’s eateries” and visit local landmarks during the event, which runs on Sunday, Sept. 14

Upcoming shows include 'Come From Away,' 'Heartbreak Hotel,' 'Frozen The Musical' and 'Little Shop of Horrors.'

Exhibit highlights include rare and unpublished photographs of Hope; wartime correspondence between Hope and service members; WWII-era relics engraved to Hope; videos of his traveling, wartime troupe and Hollywood Victory Caravan programs and scrapbooks.  

The annual festival now doubles as an Oktoberfest and has grown since its origin in 2016.

Isaak will perform at the downtown Joliet theatre on Friday, Dec. 12.

This live concert experience pays tribute to the iconic music and personalities that defined the golden age of FM radio.

The Downers Grove Fine Arts Festival will bring more than 50 artists to the city's downtown for this two-day event.

LaBelle, who has been called the “Godmother of Soul,” will perform hit songs like “Lady Marmalade,” “On My Own” and more from her six decades in the music industry.