Andersonville Midsommarfest

Festival spans only one street, which means it’s straightforward and simple to navigate – or, you may think it’s not as much bang for your $ 10 donation. In any case, my experience in 2015 was that it is pet friendly, and there are many pet products vendors giving out freebies for your pets, including a doggie caricature artist doing free portraits. It also has a few LGBT booths and local business booths. The food stalls were pretty generic and lacking though. We found ourselves dining al fresco at Hamburger Marys, which is on the festival path. I can’t imagine spending more than a couple hours here unless you’re staying for the all-​day music, because you can experience everything else pretty quickly.

Andersonville Midsommarfest, wow! I expected it to be like the typical over-​hyped and overcrowded neighborhood fest and it far exceeded expectations. We just happened to walk into it while taking a stroll, and didn’t stay long due to the weather, but I was drooling over the scent and sight of delicious food from recognized fest stands such as Nicholas Quality Meats and Giordano’s as well as local favorites such as Vincent, Calo, Reza’s, etc. — it was such a wide variety, from kabobs, pizza, gyros, to poutine, churros, funnel cake. Gosh, everything looked amazing! There were 5 stages playing live music, and a good amount of people hanging out, but enough room to walk comfortably. I didn’t really see a lot of interesting stands, but keep in mind that Clark St. is simply lined with quaint shops for other shopping!

Such a great Andersonville neighborhood festival. This was our first year and we only went Friday evening but we will definitely return next year. Delicious Sangria and 80’s cover band Sixteen Candles, no need to say more but I will. The food and craft vendors also looked good. Apparently Friday night is only ¹⁄₃ of the festival size of Saturday and Sunday and apparently there are also some Swedish cultural activities. Fun times for all.

The absolute best summer festival in Chicago. Everyone is just so excited and ready to start the festival season and enjoy the warm weather. Plenty of great tents with great sellers. You have to check out the Maypole and the Swedish museum to get the Swedish experience but what is absolutely clutch is the frozen glögg. As far above the gay scene this is the first event to kick off Pride month. Be sure to bring your dogs for the dog competition.

This fest was in an article as one of the summer fests not to miss, I had never gone so I thought well yea let’s go! I also had a groupon and therefore had a double reason.
All I can say is thank goodness I had a groupon at least. The fest is tiny and had nothing in it. I was done in about 15 minutes (minus my groupon beers), and went over to Hopleaf. :(quite sad after it sounded so good.

Went to midsummer fest this year for the first time with some friends. While this festival is crowded it was much bigger then I expected. I was surprised at the amount of vendors. As always the neighborhood was filled with lots of friendly people as well. Was a fun day out with my friends. Like all city fairs the food was pricy but then again you’re not forced to buy any so no reason to rant. Over all a fun time.

I don’t go to many street fests in the city for lots of reasons, but I’m never disappointed with Midsommarfest! It’s enormous– stretching from Foster to Bryn Mawr on Clark, with big several stages at crossroads, and plenty of room to stretch out. I usually feel a bit crammed in to most fests, with little opportunity to find a quiet place to sit down or just let the ringing in my ears subside. This is not that kind of fest!
The food and drink are top-​notch and interesting; my must-​haves are frozen Glögg from Simon’s, white sangria from Reza’s (it’s the cheapest!), and cevapcici with eggplant sauce and onions. You won’t be sorry! Shopping is awesome in this neighborhood, too, and all the shops are at their best during the festival. Lots of antiques, local artists, handmade, imported, whatever you enjoy. My favorite brick-​and-​mortar shop is Galleria, featuring booths for probably fifty local artists and artisans.
Protip: Stop in to the Swedish American Heritage Museum for a quiet, well curated little bit of history (and gloriously clean bathrooms!). There’s contemporary Scandinavian art on the ground floor, historic vignettes with lots of genuine antiques on the 2^nd, and interactive history for the kiddos on 3. The best part is admission is free on Fest days, and a kindly Swedish gentleman or woman is always thrilled to show you around. Pick up a unique Swedish souvenir here, or make a donation to keep them going. While you have the chance, buy some Lars mustard.
Take your picture with the Maypole, usually set up by Simon’s just north of Foster Ave. Get some fried potatoes and a glass of sangria, and enjoy the relaxed vibe.

I love this festival and I didn’t get to go last year. Parking is a nightmare usually but we lucked into a spot. The music was great and the food was good and beer was delish! Even though my son was a little young for a lot of the activities, it was very kid friendly which I love. This will continue to be one of my favorites and I can’t wait until next year!

Great music and people-​watching, but I wish they had more food options. (Perhaps we arrived too late?) A friend got two glasses of Gloob (?!), and a girlfriend and I shared a pineapple drink that was probably the most delicious drink I’ve had in a while. There were a lot of cool booths to look at, but an $ 8 Chicago coaster is far out of my price range. Too bad Midsommarfest (better music) and the Rib Fest (better food) don’t merge into one giant superfest! :)

Still one of the best fests of the summer! 2013 visit cemented Midsommarfest with the following observations:
— It’s huge. It’s long. (the Fest!)
— good food. You have your gyros and hot dogs, but also your Cevapcici, Reza’s, and other local food vendors
— Good music. Reggae, kids rocking out, mambo, rock ‘n’ roll cover bands. It’s all good here
— Good people. (see original review below– a great mix! Probably the least douchey festival in Chicago!)
This will be an annual start to summer for me!

I loved Andersonville Midsommarfest and it accomplished it’s goal with me making me fall in love with Andersonville. I didn’t realize how many of the stores and shops I had been to right along this main strip on Clark Street.
This fest had SO many vendors — everything from crafts to a lot of arts vendors (paintings, hand drawings, etc) to a ton of pet booths (including Treehouse my favorite animal shelter that gave me the best cat in the entire world) to a ton of equality in marriage booths (rock on) selling shirts and just spreading the word to face painting and puppet shows. There was a bit of everything here and I was down with it all.
Aside from all the great vendors, there were quite a lot of food options. They had booths with cevapcici, bacon wrapped everything, gyros, pizza, thai food — something for everyone. Plus all the bars & restaurants along Clark were open and PACKED to the brim.
Then there was the music! I thought there were just 3 music stages but there ended up being 5 or 6 with great acts everywhere. A cute little kid group was rockin on the kids stage — they were really good! Hyping the crowd and all! I saw some of my favorite groups on the Out Rock stage personally. But I was also down with a reggae band on one side, cover band on the other. Just totally loved all the music.
Highlight of my day at Andersonville Midsommarfest (and I’m talking full day from 330ish until 1130ish) — a close call between hanging with some super amazing Unilocalers sippin’ on Crispin (thanks CG) and discovering Eric Himan. Eric Himan was on the Out Rock stage last night and he was just a dream and I was entranced by his voice and music. I’m his new groupie.

Hanging tough as one of the few DOUCHEBAG FREE festivals in Chicago.
Über diverse crowd, full of love! My favorite fest, and the only one I reliably hit, year after year of living in this fantastic neighborhood.

Progressive Neighborhood! I remember when this area was less than appealing in the early 90’s but the Mayor dedicated a large sum of money into repairing all the streets, sidewalks, lamp posts, streetscaping. The people came back in a big way, today its one of the hottest places to live, eat and play. As you can see by the incredible attendance at the festival. Great restaurant scene, bars, nightlife its all good in Andersonville. Congratulations on a great festival. Sixteen Candles was the best!

This is hands down my favorite festival in the city, for several reasons. The first being that it is close enough for me to walk to and stumble home. Second, for whatever reason, I wasn’t hassled for the suggested $ 5 donation. Maybe it was because I arrived later on Sunday afternoon? Who knows, but either way, it was a nice reprieve from the typical harassment that is given by entrance guards.
Sure, it has some of the same vendors as other fests, but that is going to happen. I do like that local restaurants are featured and are also open during the fest. You are provided other choices besides the typical Bud Light. The other options are sangria, wine, and my new favorite, frozen glögg. This festival is definitely a must do and will always be in my rotation of summer events.

A good time happened here this past Sunday!
frozen glögg from Simon’s and cevapcici set the tone for my fun Sunday afternoon with friends!
Will place this in the annual festival rotation going forward!

If you’re going to donate $ 5 to a Chicagofest, this would be totally worth it. Whether it’s checking 5 different stages of music, to antique furniture, art shopping, streetfoodin, boutique clothing, handmade jewelery or hat shopping, even faux boulder hot tub and gutter coverings, Midsommerfest has a lot going on! It’s also one of the larger festivals stretching across Foster to Bryn Mawr.
Noteworthy crowd — LGBT, some drag queens, shirtless buff gay men, and funky hairdo — props goes to person with the 4ft long mohawk.

I love Midsommarfest because of the diversity. You can find all different types of people, families & dogs. Although I wish the dogs would stay home when it’s really hot and sunny!
It’s fun to hang out, catch a band and look at some local crafts. I go every year!

One of the best street festivals in the area.
Great food, drinks, friends and bands. Also, an area for families to enjoy. Just wish the parents would keep their kids in that family area.
Looking forward to next year festival.

Mind if I review Midsommarfest 2009, even though it’s 2010? Thanks!
Midsommarfest actually epitomizes the «local flavor» that all Chicago festivals tend to string on to the end of their descriptions, but never actually achieve.
Andersonville either houses some very friendly people, or only friendly people are allowed to enter. I don’t care which way, but it made the festival so much more fun than most others. Great bands, really great food that doesn’t necessarily come on a stick, and plenty of bars for extra drinks after the festival winds down (which wasn’t until well after midnight for me).
The testament to this being a successful festival: Two very witty and fun gay guys found me cradling a bottle of tequila on a curb by myself and escorted me to my waiting party. Thanks guys :)

I’m still feelin’ festive after a weekend of Midsommarfesting!
Andersonville hosts one of my favorite fests — it’s filled with friendly people, great food, a variety of beer/​cocktails, and awesome local businesses.
Highlights for me included:
Getting in on the World Cup action at Simon’s early Sat. afternoon
$ 3 beers (any kind!) available at Reza’s
Potent sangria! (also from Reza’s)
Seeing Andersonville community pride on full display (it’s so refreshing to see such passionate community support!)
Watching the band Ode rock the Simon’s-sponsored south stage on Saturday (cheers to supporting local music! I understand cover bands provide reliable entertainment for the masses, but let’s do our part to keep our vibrant local music scene alive and kickin’!)
I’m just sad it’s all over… ’til next year!