Historic Downtown Long Grove — Local services in Long Grove

Downtown long grove on its own is nice. It has character and charm. (This is the one star they earned.)

However, the “festivals” that they host are a joke. I used to go to strawberry festival when I was little. This year, we took my son to apple festival. Like many other reviewers, our experience was sub par.

1. $7 admission - nearly impossible to enforce with the event layout and lax “ticket” takers.. We saw many people without stamped hands. And admission gets you nothing except to listen to cover bands, which many towns do for free at fall fests. It was like you paid $7 to walk around long grove and spend MORE money, which frankly, I can do any other day of the week.
2. Yes, the bands were good, but $9 for a 12 oz domestic beer?! That’s a can! You can almost get a 12pk for that.
3. The food was all very expensive as well. $14 for a funnel cake!? $5 for an apple fritter? $13 for a Dixie plate of pancit with a little chicken? And it wasn’t even that good.
4. We paid $5 at the Lions lot for parking and the guy operating it was a jerk. He told us to keep pulling into the bushes so that we were off the road. He told us “the bushes wouldn’t bite”. Funny to say when it’s not your car getting scratched! Mind you, we were over a foot off the pavement, so his behavior was unnecessary.
5. there were no maps (stationary would’ve been fine) to show where everything was.
6. Lastly, it was APPLE fest. Where the heck were the apples!?!?! If I go to a fest for something, it better be everywhere and in everything. There was one vendor with fresh apples. A few with apple cider donuts and not much else. Caramel apples were $10-12. Ridiculous! There was hardly anything apple for a fest branded for it. It was basically carnival rides and tent vendors selling random tshirts, made in China stuffed animals, packaged foods (not Apple!), etc. Such was was of a Saturday and money.

Overall, the festivals have gone down hill. It’s a mediocre money grab. You’ll have more fun and spend less money if you go...

I attended the Long Grove Strawberry Festival on June 28, 2025, with my family of three after purchasing tickets online in advance. Unfortunately, the experience was a complete letdown due to the lack of ticketing enforcement. No one checked our tickets at either entrance, as the event spanned both sides of the road with no visible staff managing access. I even spoke with locals who laughed about entering for free without paying, while I had spent money on tickets for my family. It’s incredibly frustrating and unfair to those of us who paid for admission to see others walk in without any checks. The event felt like a rip-off, and the lack of organization diminished what could have been a fun day. I’m not asking for a refund, but I’m deeply disappointed and won’t be returning. I hope the organizers improve ticket enforcement in the future to ensure fairness for...

Definitely not a good experience at all. When my husband and I showed up at 4:45 they said they weren’t taking anymore people with an attitude. We bought tickets in advanced months prior, and our ticket time was 5:00pm on the last day. When we departure back, there was a line waiting to get on and they told the people waiting, they left at 5pm, when they left at 4:57pm. When i checked online all slots were filled, it was the other family that paid for tickets in advanced. I know it was a colder night out, but that should be expected. If they can’t make their customers happy because of the cold they shouldn’t be doing any carriage rides at all. Also, the ride was very short and they weren’t giving us any information on why long grove was historic. Will not be going back for $15 dollars per person. Terrible service with...