🎶🍴 Eat, Drink & Rock Out at Taste of Park Ridge! 🎉🎸

🎶🍴 Eat, Drink & Rock Out at Taste of Park Ridge! 🎉🎸

Let's head to the northwest suburbs for one of the area's signature summer festivals — the Taste of Park Ridge! 🎉

📅 Thursday, July 9, 2026
⏰ 5:45 – 10:00 PM
📍 Uptown Park Ridge — booths line Summit Avenue between Touhy & Prospect, stage at the Touhy Triangle lot
📍 WHERE TO FIND US:
✔️ Meet at the corner of S. Prospect Ave & Summit Ave, Park Ridge at 5:45 PM
✔️ Lost or running late? Call 312-835-4259!
💰 Admission: FREE entrance. Food & drink require ticket purchase. They take credit cards & cash for food tickets
https://tasteofparkridge.com/

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🎶 Thursday Headliner Lineup (Main Stage):
🎵 6:00 PM — Serendipity ⭐ WE WILL SEE THIS!
🥂 7:30 PM — Opening Ceremony — a toast to the volunteers and sponsors who make it all happen
🎸 8:30 PM — 7th Heaven ⭐ WE WILL SEE THIS!

If you can't come at 5:45 pm, just meet us later as we will be there until 10 pm!

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🌟 About the Bands
🎵 Serendipity
A Chicago-area pop/rock band known for blending beloved 60s, 70s, and 80s covers with current pop hits. They've been featured on live television, radio, and commercials — known for their high energy and sharp musicianship.
🎵 Serendipity — https://serendipityband.com/

🎸 7th Heaven
A true festival legend — 39 years in the business! 7th Heaven has charted #1 on the Midwest Billboard Charts three separate times and racked up 7 major radio hits. They've toured the U.K., Ireland, Greece, Amsterdam, Panama, Mexico, and across the U.S. Famous for their unforgettable "30 Songs in 30 Minutes" medley spanning the 70s and 80s — a can't-miss closer to the night!
🎸 7th Heaven — https://www.7thheavenband.com/

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🏛️ A Brief History of the Taste
The Taste of Park Ridge has deep community roots. It was founded in 2000 by the late Harry O'Brien (former Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce Executive Director), Dave Iglow (owner of Pine's Menswear), and noted restaurateur Dean Patras — evolving from an earlier event called the "Taste of Uptown," originally created to enhance the neighborhood's traditional Summer Sidewalk Sale.

By 2005, the festival had grown popular with residents but was struggling to sustain itself financially and nearly folded. Newly elected Mayor Howard Frimark secured seed funding and asked founder Dave Iglow to assemble a volunteer management committee. In just seven weeks, that committee pulled off a fantastic civic celebration — and the Taste has thrived ever since, entirely run by non-compensated civic-minded volunteers from the Park Ridge community.

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What started as a sidewalk sale boost in the early 2000s has grown into one of the northwest suburbs' premier summer festivals — all powered by volunteers giving their time for free, year after year. That's a pretty great Chicagoland story. 🎉🍴

📱 Lost or late? Call 312-835-4259

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🚗 Getting There:
🚇 Transit (recommended — the festival is RIGHT at the Metra station!):
🚆 Metra UP-NW Line → Park Ridge Station, 100 S. Summit Ave. The festival booths line Summit Ave directly north of the station!
🚇 CTA Blue Line options:

• Jefferson Park stop → hop on CTA #68 Northwest Hwy bus toward Park Ridge
• Harlem stop → connect to Pace bus service into Park Ridge
• Cumberland stop → connect via Pace Routes 209 or 290

🚌 Pace Routes 209, 241, 290 and CTA Route 68 all serve the Park Ridge Metra station directly
🔗 Plan your trip: https://www.transitchicago.com/planatrip/ or https://metra.com/

🚗 Driving & Parking:
🅿️ On-street parking available along Summit Avenue and Busse Highway on the north side of the tracks
🅿️ Parking lot at the southwest corner of Summit & Touhy Avenues
📱 Some lots use the PassportParking app — pay by phone instead of searching for a meter!
⚠️ Expect heavy congestion and limited parking near the festival itself — taking the train in is genuinely the easiest option for this one!

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📌 NO-SHOW POLICY:
❗ 3 no-shows without updating RSVP = 3-month freeze
⏰ Update RSVP by event start time — after that, message host directly
✅ Check in with the host upon arrival