urbana wine festival | Undergraduate Library Blog - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

If you are sticking around for a Champaign-Urbana summer, you’ll have no shortage of festivals and events. We have the scoop on the most popular festivals you won’t want to miss, plus a few cool tips for summer in CU.

Homer Soda Festival – Saturday, June 3 10am-7pm

Taste the rainbow at the Homer Soda Festival! Purchase 10 tasting tickets for $4 or choose unlimited tastings for $15. While you’re tasting dozens of pop flavors you never knew existed, like Americana Huckleberry or Prickly Pear, enjoy music, art, a Classic Car show, food, and a BBQ cook off. Grab a friend with a car and head out to Downtown Homer for this classic annual event!

Uncork Urbana Wine Festival – Saturday, June 10 3-10pm

For $15 admission, you receive a souvenir wine glass and 7 tasting tickets (5 tickets if you purchase admission at the door!). With these tasting tickets, attendees can try wines from a number of regional wineries! This is a Glambana event you can’t miss. Don’t forget: this year it’s been moved to the well-loved Meadowbrook park rather than its downtown Urbana location of previous years. This year will also feature local live music, food trucks, and live cooking demonstrations.

StreetFest – Saturday, June 10 and Saturday, July 15 7pm-Midnight

After Uncork Urbana, head to downtown Champaign for StreetFest! Or, if you won’t be around June 10, catch it the second time around on July 15. StreetFest is an annual free music and food festival featuring local bands and food. So why is it called StreetFest? Yup, it’s on the street! So join your friends on the corner of Neil & Main or Walnut & University to listen to bands that call CU home.

Blues, Brews, and BBQ Festival – Friday, June 23-Saturday, June 24

This two-day festival in Downtown Champaign celebrates local breweries, music, and BBQ. The lineup hasn’t been announced yet, but if you’re a fan of blues, be sure to check their website for updates about this year’s festival!

Taste of Champaign-Urbana – Friday August 18-Saturday, August 19, 5pm-11pm and 11am-11pm

Taste of Champaign-Urbana is an annual opportunity to celebrate local restaurants, art, beer, and music in West Side Park. Entrance to the festival is free, but purchase tickets to spend at food vendors. The entertainment list will be out in July! If you’re a runner, you can also join in on the Pie Run in West Side Park, then reward yourself with a good meal.

None of these are your jam? Looking for something else? There’s always something to do in CU! Check out the Champaign Farmers Market Tuesdays 3:30-6:30 or Urbana’s Market at the Square on Saturdays 7am-noon.

If you still don’t know what to do this summer, visit the Urbana Park District and Champaign Park District websites to find more events and summer fun! And, of course, if you’re ever bored, come enjoy the air conditioning at the UGL with a board game or a great book.

Although campus seems empty, that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do this summer in good old Champaign-Urbana! This is only a selection of the bundles of events that will keep your social life sizzling this summer.

Photo Courtesy of UGL Media Commons

Photo Courtesy of Illini Union

Copa America and UEFA Viewing at the Illini Union – June 3-26 and June 10-July 10 – Free

If you thought the Union would be deserted over the summer, think again! Visit the Courtyard Cafe in the Illini Union during these major soccer tournaments to see your favorite–and least favorite–teams duke it out on the field.

Photo Courtesy of Illini Union

Eye in the Sky on the Quad – Thursday June 9, 9pm – Free

After a day of frollicking in the sun, enjoy a June night on the Quad with your friends and Alan Rickman! The Illini Union will be showing this film that explores ethics during war. With a 95% rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a pricetag of $0, there’s no excuse not to give it a chance.

Photo Taken from Facebook Event

The Princess Bride at the Virginia Theater – Monday June 13 and Tuesday June 14, 7pm – $4

Always wanted to see Wesley on the big screen? As you wish! This classic spoof on the Romantic Comedy movie genre is just one movie being shown as part of the Virginia Theater’s ROMCOM16 series. Climbing the Cliffs of Insanity would be better than missing this!

Photo Taken from Urbana Business Association Facebook

Uncork Urbana Wine Festival – Saturday June 18, 1-9pm – Admission $15 online, $20 at the gate (includes 5 tastings and souvenir glass)

For the 21 and up crowd, be sure to check out the Uncork Urbana Wine Festival this month. The festival features wine tasting, food trucks, and live music in downtown Urbana. Nab your tickets a couple days early to save $5 on admission!

Photo Taken from Champaign Parks Website

StreetFest – Saturday June 18, 7pm-Midnight – Free

This annual live music event also features food and drinks from all your favorite local spots. Enjoy the great June weather with bands The New and Slightly Used, Sun Stereo, and Jim Markum Swing Band. If you can’t make it in June, StreetFest will be back with new bands on July 16.

Photo Taken from Lola’s Brush

Wine Bottle Painting at Lola’s Brush – Wednesday June 22, 6-8pm – $20

Paint a wine bottle and get a little tipsy at this BYOB event at Lola’s Brush in Champaign. Admission includes materials. If you can’t make it on this day, don’t fret! There are BYOB painting events at Lola’s throughout the summer, including a couple’s paint and wine glass painting.

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