August 2023

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Food vendors start serving their special dishes during the three-day Taste of the Illinois Valley in Peru.

Starved Rock Country is a hub for live music. Catch the sounds of summer at a fair or local concert series.

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Country star Tracy Lawrence headlines Streator Fest at Northpoint Plaza in Streator.

Novice fossil collectors can explore the Mazon Fossil Beds and gather 300-million-year-old specimens. Details at iandmcanal.org/event

Rent a bike at an I&M Canal Bike rental station in La Salle, Utica or Morris or at Quest Watersports in Ottawa and explore the I&M Canal State Trail! See p. 40-49

Catch violinist Casey McGrath’s Fiddlerock! show in Tonica. Read more on p. 8.

Join 60,000 visitors in consuming 50 tons of free, hot, buttered sweet corn at the Mendota Sweet Corn Festival. Enjoy music, vendors and a carnival.

Brushville will fill Princeton streets with music during the Down on Main summer concert series.

La Salle County Cruisers is hosting a car show on Albin Stevens Drive in Ottawa. Register vehicles at 2 p.m. Shop unique vendors at the 3 French Hens French Country Market, 402 Liberty St., Morris, the second Saturday of May-October.

Breweries, cideries and meaderies take over Mill Street for the Utica Craft Beer Street Fest. The Liberty Arts Festival in Morris features an art stroll, music, shopping, kids’ crafts and more.

Gates open at 2 p.m. for Illinois’ longest running fair. Check out the lineup of events at bureaucountyfair.com/ fair-schedule

Country star Josh Turner with special guest Sara Evans takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. at the Bureau County Fair. It’s Eat Outside Day! Grab a table outdoors at one of Starved Rock Country’s restaurants or picnic at one of the region’s parks.

Americana and classic rock band Big Uproar rounds out the Summer Sunset Concert series at Hegeler Carus Mansion in La Salle.