Ready for the long weekend to kick-off your summer? Start it right by spending your weekend in St. Charles, where there’s so many cool places and events to check out!
Events
Returning to Riverside Avenue for its 23rd year, the St. Charles Fine Art Show will be bringing over 80 juried artists to display and sell their art! The art is in a variety of mediums from sculptures, glass, jewelry, photography, paintings and more. Plus, when you are done wandering around and looking at or buying art, you can stop into Flagship and Pollyanna Brewing Co. (who are right in the middle of the show!) or head to any of the other nearby restaurants and businesses in downtown St. Charles! The event will be on the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend with it running from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Now the weather can get pretty hot on Memorial Day Weekend so think about stopping over at one of the ice cream shops we have in town or grabbing some frozen yogurt from Forever Yogurt if you need a way to keep cool while you walk around!
The Chicagoland Gems and Minerals Show is one of the largest, if not largest, gem and mineral shows in Illinois! The 45th annual show will be at the Kane County Fairgrounds on the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Walk around to the various booths of nationally-known dealers who will have jewelry, fossils, semi-precious and precious stones and more! Plus, there will be some fun activities like geode splitting, a silent auction, a gem flume for kids, mineral displays and more!
Parking is free for the event, but there is an admission fee with $5 for adults, $3 for seniors & students and free admission for children under 13. For more information, you can visit their website!
The St. Charles Farmer’s Market will be up at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church on Friday, May 27. The Farmer’s market will take place inside the church and has vendors that sell fresh produce and other products! You can stop by anytime between 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Memorial Day Parade
Break out the American flags, folding chairs or blankets and grab a spot along Main Street for the Memorial Day Parade! Come see and honor veterans and former servicemen as they walk down Main Street to the Freedom Shrine behind the Municipal Building and along the river. There will be a memorial service at the Freedom Shrine after the parade.
Art to Explore
If you’ve finished up at the Fine Art Show, take a walk over at Mount St. Mary’s Park where you can explore the park and the many sculptures throughout it. Especially if you have any kids, you can walk the sculptures and then take a stop at the park! It’s completely free and a great way to enjoy the outdoors and some art!
Sip & Paint
If you’re looking for more of a sit down activity, check out some of the sip and paint classes at Board & Brush or Pinot’s Palette! They are loads of fun with their various themes they choose for the classes. For more information visit their websites! You’ll want to schedule quickly if you want to go as classes fill up fast!
Murals
Grab a photo for the Instagram or Facebook, it’s time to hit up the murals! We have five murals where you can show You Made It or You Look Good while you Radiate Positivity! Every side is your best side when you take a picture with these awesome murals.
If you’d rather just Be You, head down to First Street Plaza to take a photo with the Be You Sculpture! With the incredible backdrops of St. Charles, it’s the perfect place for a great photo.
Spots to Check Out
Coming down towards the downtown, there’s a whole bunch of cool restaurants and places to explore. One such place is the Office Dining & Spirits. You’ll love their patio during the day, but especially at night thanks to their patio that features fire pits on the tables! They add a cool setting that you’ll love as you pick something out from their menu full of delicious choices! Or you can sit inside, where there’s plenty of room to hang out and grab a drink and bite to eat!
Continuing on down into the downtown, La Za’ Za’ Trattoria is a great memorial day spot as it puts you in the center of all the action. Grab some amazing food or drinks and hang out outside on their patio, where you can see all the activity at the Fine Art show and get amazing sights of the river.
Explore some businesses outside of the downtown like 93 Octane Brewery! Provided the weather is nice, grab a seat on their new outdoor patio and enjoy some amazing craft brews. You can also grab some food from Urban Counter if you want some snacks or food to go with the brews! You can also post up at their taproom and enjoy the inside as well.
Another place to explore outside of the downtown is Spotted Fox Ale House. They have weekly specials that you won’t want to miss, as well as live music and fun events. If you like line dancing at all or would like to learn some dances, you can head there on Saturday for some fun! They also have indoor seating or you can sit out on their patio if you’d rather be outside.
Stay the Weekend
Turn your Memorial Day day trip into a weekend! Our 10 wonderful hotels are here to make sure you have the accommodations you need to rest and play in comfort and security. With all of them within a 5-10 minute drive of all the Memorial Day activities, you can’t go wrong!
Planning Out Your Weekend
Take a look at our Travel St. Charles app for the Memorial Day Weekend if you want to build out where you want to go! It makes coming here to St. Charles a breeze! The app is available for download on Apple and Android devices.