Entertainment
Boone County is home to many local and annual events, attractions and festivals, as well as access to countless cultural activities.
Enjoy artistic celebrations such as the Blaine Folk Festival. Enjoy “Concerts in the Park,” a program at the historic Baltic Mill in Belvidere Park and Candlewick Lake Sunday evenings in June and July. Belvidere’s Heritage Days Celebration is held the fourth weekend in June. Throughout spring, summer and fall, Boone county hosts many car and plane shows and exhibits. In the fall, check out the apple orchards, corn mazes and pumpkin patches. The County also enjoys its many products of agriculture, and we celebrate our farms with an annual Farm Bureau Breakfast down on the farm with tractor displays, cow milking and more.
Boone County’s Fair, held in August each year, is the state’s second-largest county fair. Thousands of people attend this annual event, enjoying family-friendly attractions such as 4-H showing and judging, craft and food vendors, top-name music performers, games, a carnival, and more. And, before the fair begins and after the fair closes, enjoy many other events that take place at the Fairgrounds, like car and motorcycle swap meets, dog shows, and various horse exhibits. Or, if you like crafts, spend an autumn day at Fall Didley, the largest craft show in Northern Illinois and held in October.
Other favorite annual events include the Hometown Christmas, a favorite December celebration with living window displays, storytellers, food, music, arts and crafts, a Holiday Lights Display and Parade hosted by the Belvidere Park District, and many other seasonal events to celebrate the winter season.
The Main Street Players Theatre Group stages high-quality theatrical productions on a continual basis at the Community Building Complex of Boone County. Historical local attractions include the Boone County Historical Society Museum, with a two-story log cabin. The Petitt Memorial Chapel, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs, is located at the Belvidere Cemetery, and the Autumn Pioneer Festival is held at the Conservation District. Don’t forget the history of flight by exploring the many events at the Poplar Grove Vintage Wings and Wheels Museum. Downtown Belvidere is a showplace for muralists and is well-known as the “City of Murals.” Check out Christmas in Capron the first weekend in December and Christmas in the Cabins at the Conservation District.
Boone County residents are just minutes away from neighboring communities that offer theater productions, nightclubs and other artistic events. Many take advantage of the cultural and entertainment options and sports such as ice hockey and baseball in nearby Rockford. And being only an hour and half away from downtown Chicago via the I-90 tollway, Boone County residents have convenient access to the city’s vast array of entertainment offerings. •
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