Community Corner

'honeyhoney' Playing Oaktoberfest, Then Sold Out Metro Show

Downtown Oak Park's Shanon Williams shares what not to miss at Oaktoberfest 2013.

Oaktoberfest, Downtown Oak Park's annual celebration of fall, kicks off Friday afternoon with food from local restaurants, a hand-picked selection of craft beer and wine, activities for kids and live music by bands from all over. 

We asked Downtown Oak Park Marketing Director Shanon Williams to share a few things you cannot miss at Oaktoberfest. Here's what she said:

Happy Hour, Hand-Selected Beer and Wine

Hit the happy hour from 4-5 p.m. on Friday to kick off the event, where Downtown Oak Park will be selling half-priced Oaktoberfest mugs. 

There, you'll get a head start on tasting the other thing you can't miss: The hand-selected wines and craft beers

Craft beers at Oaktoberfest include: Revolution Anti-Hero IPA, Argus Ironhouse, Hopothesis Drafty Window, Leinenkugel Original, Lakefront Fixed Gear, New Holland the Poet, Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat, Samuel Adams Octoberfest, New Belgium Pumpkick and Firestone Walker Octoberv.

The Music—honeyhoney, Amanda Shaw and More
The live music will be a highlight of the weekend, with a variety of "fabulous" music from bands flying in from all over, Williams said. 

One of the acts, honeyhoney, is actually flying in from L.A. to play Oaktoberfest from 4-6 p.m. Friday, before they play in a sold out show at Chicago's Metro on Saturday. Oak Parkers and others participating in Oaktoberfest festivities will get a chance to see the band—for free—before they hit a staple venue in the Chicago music scene.

Paste Magazine wrote the two-person band is worth watching. An "alternately rustic-retro and cool-contemporary," sound, Paste writes, "Displays the common pop threat between alt.country, spaghetti western soundtracks and swampy blues." (You can see for yourself in one of their videos above.)

On honeyhoney's website, the music is described as having an "old world feel.

"With fiddles threading the melodies, big acoustic guitar sounds and banjos plinking as percussively as melodically, there is an old world feel to honeyhoney that is as fresh and right now as it is tube radios and old lace."

Other acts will be in Oak Park from North Carolina, New Orleans, Philly and Nashville. Miles Nielsen and the Rusted Hearts from Rockford will close Friday from 8-10 p.m., and Amanda Shaw from New Orleans will close Saturday night. 

The Food—All From Local Restaurants
What else? The food. No one likes drinking and concert-going on an empty stomach.

Oaktoberfest will have food from the "finest" downtown restaurants, including Aripo's Venezuelen Arepa HouseKinderhook Tap, Luo's Peking House, Mancini's, Puree's Pizza & Pasta, Sugar Fixe Patisserie, Wells Street Popcorn, Barclay's American Grille, Jerusalem Cafe, Boss Burrito and Khyber Pass. 

The Root Beer Floats
On Saturday, Cold Stone Creamery will join the mix and make fresh root beer floats outside on Saturday.

The Zuccini Races
Lastly, check out the zucchini races—another must-see. For $3, kids can make and then race their own zucchini cars. Kids driving around in little vegetables? Who could miss that? 

For a full schedule and more information about Oaktoberfest 2013, go to the Downtown Oak Park website, or a recent Patch post here.


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