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Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Long Grove beginning free summer Music in the Park at Covered Bridge Park
The historic covered bridge in Long Grove has become the backdrop for a new free summer music series. 'Music in the Park' runs from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursdays in the Covered Bridge Park, June 5-July 31. 'We're always about giving back to the community,' said Dave Gayton, vice president and marketing chairperson of the Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association, which is sponsoring the series. 'We thought by offering live music in a relaxing and friendly environment, it would be what people are looking for to do on a nice summer night.' They chose the Covered Bridge Park as the setting because the Covered Bridge 'is our signature piece and very iconic and historic,' Gayton said. In choosing performers, they focused on local talent, Gayton indicated. They also looked for diverse styles of music. 'We want to appeal to a broad audience,' Gayton explained. The series began on June 5 with the vocal/guitar trio Toe Tappers, featuring Ken Kuhn, Mitchell Marcus, and Paul Hilderbrand. The group plays music from different decades, as well as some of songwriter Kuhn's original songs. Kuhn was particularly excited that his group inaugurated the concert series because of his close ties to Long Grove. 'It's such an honor,' Kuhn said. 'I have played in Long Grove before, and I had such wonderful experiences. It turned out to be a wonderful and magical evening.' Kuhn said that he grew up in the Long Grove area, in a place that was then called Farmington, which is now part of Kildeer. 'I went to Long Grove Community Church as a young boy and my parents were both in the choir at the church,' Kuhn said. 'And my wife and I, 31-1/2 years ago, were married in Long Grove Community Church.' The town is also where Kuhn got his first job as an eighth-grader, washing dishes at Long Grove Tavern. 'I have a lot of fond, sentimental memories of Long Grove,' Kuhn said. 'For me to play there as an adult is a real dream come true.' Gayton reported that they were pleased with the turnout of about 40 people at the first concert. 'For being right out of the gate, we thought that was fantastic,' he said. 'People loved it. They especially loved the environment. One group brought out a whole big picnic.' The concert series continues on June 12 with singer-songwriter Nicole Nystrom performing with her three-piece country band. 'I'm going to do a mixture of classic country covers and then original music,' Nystrom said. There's sure to be a diverse selection of music because, Nystrom reported, 'I love the fact that we have band members from different genres. We have a lot of country to Americana sounds with a western-bluesy flair.' Nystrom revealed that she creates songs about the simple country life. 'I write a lot of songs out with my horses or when I'm driving my truck,' she said. 'I love the storytelling part of songwriting.' Her songs cover a diverse range of topics, including love and heartbreak. That topic comes up in 'Hearts First,' a single that's out now. She has also written some faith-based songs, including some about 'the hardships I've gone through in life and how God has helped me through those,' she said. Some of Nystrom's songs, like 'Casualty,' are about bad guys who don't treat women right. She has also co-written songs with other songwriters in Nashville. The singer-songwriter said that her audiences seem to react the most when the character sings a love song she wrote—about a guy's relationship with his truck! The Long Grove audiences will also hear classic numbers of Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Bonnie Raitt, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, and others. Nystrom indicated that she enjoys performing outdoor concerts. 'I think it brings a really fun, family-friendly feel,' she explained. The series continues on June 19 with Bluewater Creek from Lake County playing folk, country, and rock 'n' roll covers and originals. The July 10 concert will feature Lake Zurich singer and musician Bill Uhler, who is known for his high-energy shows. There will be Nashville-style rhythm and blues and country rock on July 17 when singer-songwriter and guitarist Colin Cimmarusti performs. He frequently performs locally including in Barrington, Long Grove, Crystal Lake, and Cary. The July 24 concert will feature the Big Sky Acoustic Duo playing bluegrass, blues, and roots-infused covers. The series concludes on July 31 with L&M Experience performing eclectic acoustic covers and original songs. For more details about the concerts, visit
Chicago Tribune
10-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Thousands flock to Long Grove's Cocoa Crawl; ‘The launch of the 2025 festival season'
It was 33 degrees and overcast for this year's annual Cocoa Crawl in Long Grove that brought out thousands Saturday to the village's historic downtown. As the event started, Ryan Messner, a Long Grove business owner and Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association president, said, 'Cocoa Crawl is the launch of the 2025 festival season in Long Grove. 'It's a family fun, friendly event,' he said. Free hot chocolate stations around Long Grove drew crowds of patrons. 'You've got six flavors of cocoa that you get to walk around and try,' Messner said. 'Who doesn't like coming out for free hot cocoa to start the season?' Messner's son Logan, 14, volunteered with his father, checking on the beverage inventory at hot cocoa station tents around town. 'Volunteering is kind of good because you can really help everyone,' Logan Messner said. 'You can help the community. You can give back to everyone what they've given to you.' Several businesses new to Long Grove were busy with Cocoa Crawl customer traffic. Sylvia Salimi, the owner of Blooming Boutique Flowers, shared space inside with Hana Weber, the operator of Sorelle Italian Market. Weber offered free hot chocolate and signature cookies as a thank-you to those who stopped by. 'It's been fantastic,' Weber said. Blooming Boutique Flowers opened in May and is located next to the historic Robert Parker Coffin Road Bridge. 'We love Long Grove,' Salimi said. 'We live in Long Grove, so it just made sense with our little ones to open a business here.' Her husband Ari said, 'As a family and a business, when we moved from the city we looked for a spot and we knew we wanted to be in the (Adlai E.) Stevenson (High School) district. We love family, and we want to give back to the community as well. 'When we saw and heard of Long Grove, we decided to plant our roots here for the next 18 years until our three children go through and graduate,' he said. '(Sylvia) picked the spot, the iconic bridge that everybody knows about is the backdrop for her shop. We thought it was going to be something great.' Sylvia Salimi added, 'We couldn't miss out on this opportunity here right by the bridge, and the festivals are all fun. The Cocoa Crawl's a great turnout. We've had a ton of people here.' John and Jenna Rickard moved to Long Grove from Los Angeles, with their children Will, 5, and Riley, 2. Jenna Rickard grew up in Buffalo Grove, and was a 2004 high school graduate. 'We came back to Lake County for the schools,' Jenna Rickard said. 'And we wanted a nice place for our kids to go to school in the public school system, and this was a great place.' John Rickard added, 'This just seemed like a good spot to settle down and raise our family.' On the same retail side along the flower shop is storefront business Ritzy Christmas, which opened later last year and operated by siblings Amanda and Ramona Aesho. The inventory of Ritzy Christmas includes Christmas ornaments, but also seasonal items of all holidays, including birthday gifts and a Valentine's Day ornamental tree with oversized jewels. 'The Cocoa Crawl is bringing in customers,' Amanda Aesho said. 'It's been busy. It's wonderful.' Attending the Cocoa Crawl with visitors from Wisconsin was Deb Bello of Kildeer. 'Lake County is just great,' Bello said. 'We love the small-town feel of Long Grove and all of the little shops, and just enjoy coming here and all the little festivals.'
