Block To Block Party

Free party?
I’m there.
Okay, this isn’t your traditional party. In fact, it’s more like free, live, outdoor entertainment in coordination with many of the area’s independent businesses, but it’s a nice way to spend an evening while roaming through Elmhurst’s bustling City Centre.
Here’s the deal: From Memorial Day to Labor Day, every Wednesday and Saturday evening from 6−9pm, downtown Elmhurst’s City Centre hosts a variety of talented musician under tented pop-​ups throughout the city. Most are in areas that overlook outdoor patios or have plenty of public seating to enjoy. The acts, as far as I witnessed, were pretty outstanding, although the temporary tents make for a very casual, almost easy to miss, setting.
We kept walking through downtown Elmhurst and thinking we were just hearing some loud speakers from a nearby bar that was playing Kings of Leon, Darius Rucker, LIVE, Bob Dylan and other well-​known artists on a jukebox or something, but it wasn’t. It was the sounds from the four different tents set up through downtown Elmhurst carrying over.
The whole thing was really cool and very unexpected as we’d just kept kind of wandering into these neat pop-​up live shows on different corners. Each band, singer, duo, etc really shocked us with their level of talent and performances. For me, being hard of hearing, it was better than going to a concert because here I could actually hear every note and word clear s day. Some of the tents were busier than others, but I think that was due to some areas being better for seating and such, but in any case, mild crowds formed, families danced, young girls swooned, it turned our leisurely stroll around the town into a really romantic night.
In addition to the musical acts, area businesses offer super drink food and drink specials and I believe, if you stop by the City Centre office during daytime hours, and ask nicely, they have little postcard type gift certificates for $ 5 good at almost all the downtown Elmhurst businesses and a great excuse to stop for a beer or wine.
On Wednesday I believe there’s also a classic car show, so it probably gets pretty crowded, but on our Saturday stroll, the conditions were perfect, it wasn’t at crazy. Again, the set up is really casual and you could walk by and just catch a few musical moments, but it’s worth it to grab a coffee or grub at a nearby biz and set up shop near one of the pitch-​perfect tents for a relaxing and budget-​friendly evening.