At Chicago Festivals, there’s a Mass of People + no Swedish {Meatballs}

Travel

Jun 20

Written By Andrea | Chapter 50

Rainbow rings, Festivals Chicago, Swedish Days Festival

An Out-of-Office Reply due to Summer festivals in Chicago + I don’t want to check my email

Re:: Swedish Days Festival in Geneva, Illinois

I missed your email because

I didn’t know you were sending it
IT’S SUMMER!

I'm out of the office, exploring festivals in Chicago-land and new small-ish towns with biggish personalities.

It’s summertime + I only have so much outdoor time before white winter pops back and snows me inside. So don’t expect a return response until…

Winter.

I’ll probably, most likely, maybe respond to your email. If it’s urgent, you should probably text.

Whatever you do, don’t call! I won’t answer that either, since my phone only sends “potential spam” callers to my vibrating, light-up device that I keep in my ‘strap-on’ {if you haven’t seen the movie, 80 for Brady yet, this email may read like it’s going down the wrong path}.

Why am I “out of the office” this week?

The 70+ annual Swedish Days Festival is coming up at the end of June. Whether you’re Swedish, Jewish, Danish, or Italian-ish, it’s a fun five day stroll-about for food, walking in the summer sun – or run in the 5k if you’re one of those runner people – and crush-worthy shops on Third Street.

Not All Festivals Sit in Chicago

Set up your “out-of-office” auto-responder for these five Swedish Festival days June 21st-25th.

Aside from this festival of fun 36 minutes from Chicago, Geneva’s Third Street is my favorite to explore anytime of year.

It’s a small-ish town tucked between St Charles and Batavia. It gets a charm-factor of 10 on the #TravelShenanigans scale.

A lifestyle shop entangled with unique art creations and fashion from around the globe –artemisia– wine shops + charcuterie makings –The Royal Wren– and sweets wafting down to the Metra train stop that drops you onto Third Street::

All Chocolate Kitchen {Devil’s food cake with raspberry drizzle + crème fraîche…BUY 3!}
Graham’s {Caramel apples in art form}
Hey Sugar {Hello Cupcake!}

and Harvey’s Tales Bookstore –disguised as a house– named after their pup.

Once I return to said office, I’ll respond to your email.

Until then, take a drive out of Chicago and experience a new festival this summer. Not all great festivals sit amongst the neck-craning buildings, honking horns, and that shiny, misshapen bean in Chicago.

If the bustle and shuffle in the Geneva festival streets is too much, pack up a charcuterie picnic and skip over to the Fabyan Forest Preserve for a picnic one day instead. Or a walk along the Fox River Trail.

Best regards [your name] and warmest wishes to discovering your next FUN SMALL PLACE in your Chapter 50 travel shenanigans!

💖Andrea

Tooting my own flute still isn’t natural to this 70’s baby. If you have a friend who likes travel shenanigans, in Chapter 50 who might like this, please pass along… Email the link, Pin it, tweet it, Facebook it. Better yet, Scroll down and click into the Mid Life Refresh ⬇↓⬇

View on for two more Travel Shenanigans to see {Sycamore has a pumpkin-rific festival near Chicago too}::

Walla Walla, Washington:: If you haven’t discovered it, let me show you around sometime
Sycamore, Illinois:: Midwest small with Texas-size heart

💖xo Andrea

✈️Sharing Chapter 50 Travel Shenanigans
💖Style over 50 enthusiast
🏡Finder of small town cuteness
🍩If you need a coffee-n-donut companion I’m your gal
😵‍💫Just never ask me to take the cotton out of vitamin jars🤢