Tonight is the last Thursday of SeptOberfest at Independence Grove, and Sunday is the last day of the Beer Garden. After that, the big seasonal events on the calendar through the holidays are downtown, on the few blocks around Cook Park. Trick or Treat comes first, then First Friday, Small Business Saturday, the tree lighting and Dickens of a Holiday.
The move from the lake to downtown takes about a week, from tonight's finale to First Friday on November 6. And downtown starts the season without Hansa Coffee Roasters, its café across the tracks from the Metra station, for the first time in 13 years.
Tonight at the lake
Since September 2, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at Independence Grove have brought acoustic sets by local musicians on the waterfront, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tonight's closing act, Maggie and Mark, also played September 9, early in the run. They cover classic rock, pop and country from the '70s to today.
Forest Preserves President Jessica Vealitzek said in the Lake County Forest Preserves' SeptOberfest announcement that "the music, lakeside setting and changing colors create a relaxing way to spend an evening outdoors."
The details from the Forest Preserves' August announcement still apply this final week:
- Free firewood at the waterfront fire pits while it lasts, and s'mores kits for sale
- Relish Cafe delivers light meals and snacks to Beer Garden tables
- Two limited-edition beers: Trailhead IPA, a West Coast-style IPA brewed with Tighthead Brewing Company in Mundelein, and 56 Quills: American Pils from Harbor Brewing Company
Three more days, then the lake goes quiet
The music ends tonight, but the Beer Garden stays open through the weekend. The Beer Garden at Independence Grove is open 1 to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and November 1 is the last day. That gives you three more afternoons by the lake, rotating local taps, wine, cider and cold brew, and then the season is over.
The marina already closed. The Forest Preserves list marina rentals as closed October through April. Relish Cafe is listed as a spring-through-fall operation. By the first week of November, the preserve's warm-weather extras will all be closed for the year.
Friday afternoon, the calendar arrives downtown
Downtown's first event comes the day after the SeptOberfest finale, while the Beer Garden still has two days left. Trick or Treat on MainStreet runs Friday, October 30, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. along Cook Avenue, Church Street and Lake Street.
Those three streets are where most of the next six weeks happen. Here is how the downtown calendar lines up:
| Date | Event | Hours | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 30 | Trick or Treat on MainStreet | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. | Cook Ave., Church St., Lake St. |
| Fri., Nov. 6 | First Friday | 5–9 p.m. | Downtown shops and restaurants |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Cook Park tree lighting, per Village listing | 6:30 p.m. | Cook Park |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday | 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m. | Downtown shops |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Dickens of a Holiday | 10 a.m.–3 p.m. | Cook Park and the Civic Center |
The tree lighting is the one date to double-check. The Village's special events page lists it for November 27 at 6:30 p.m. but doesn't print the year. MainStreet's page still shows last year's program, held the evening after Thanksgiving: music and holiday entertainment starting at 6:30, then Santa leading the countdown to a 7 p.m. lighting, with a photo area set up nearby. Check the Village site the week of Thanksgiving before you go.
The café that won't be part of it this year
Downtown heads into its busiest weeks with one familiar spot closed. The Daily Herald reported on September 29 that Hansa Coffee Roasters had closed its Libertyville café after 13 years when its lease was not renewed. The café was in an older building across the tracks from the downtown Metra station, and Hansa had started out along Milwaukee Avenue.
Patch reported that about 100 customers came for a final cup and to share memories on the last Sunday evening, and the shop was cleared out the next day.
Hansa itself isn't going anywhere. According to the Daily Herald, owner Kevin Kane and his wife are looking for another location in Libertyville. They don't plan to announce anything until a deal is signed. The roasting operation has already moved, and the Lake Bluff café and online store are still open. For now, regulars can still buy Hansa's coffee online or at the Lake Bluff café. The coffee shop by the train just isn't there this holiday season.
November 6, when the shops stay open late
First Friday is the first evening event downtown since the Grove closed. It runs Friday, November 6, from 5 to 9 p.m. MainStreet describes it as an evening of refreshments, discounts, late shop hours and dinner downtown.
MainStreet's event page lists day-of offers from these businesses:
- Allure Designs Salon + Boutique
- As Above So Below
- The Boardroom
- Bootery Boutique
- Curtis Frame Back Alley Gallery
- Edie/Marigold Boutique
- How impressive!
- Improv Playhouse
- Le Laurelli
- Oh, Olive!
- Rolland's Jewelers
- Twelve Paws
- Up North Axe & Tap
The list covers more than shopping. You can browse a gallery, catch a show at the Improv Playhouse, or throw axes at Up North Axe & Tap. With the Grove closed, that's a good set of things to do on a Friday night in November.
Thanksgiving weekend, two days in a row
By the end of November, downtown has back-to-back events. If the Village's November 27 date holds, the tree lighting falls on Friday evening. Small Business Saturday follows on November 28, from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. MainStreet invites everyone to shop downtown that day and notes that many shops will have special offers. MainStreet's page also mentions a gift-certificate promotion, but its terms list two different dates. Check the details with MainStreet before you count on it.
Independence Grove in November and beyond
Independence Grove stays open daily from 6:30 a.m. to sunset after the Beer Garden closes, and its 7.5 miles of walking trails circle the lake. The Forest Preserves post temporary closures on their status maps. The November walk is the same route as in summer, with fewer people and no fire pits.
Once the lake freezes, a different set of activities opens up. The Forest Preserves list ice skating and ice fishing at Independence Grove when conditions allow. Ice fishing is allowed everywhere on the lake except the skating area west of the marina, daily from 6:30 a.m. to sunset, and all fish must be released.
Closer to downtown, the Village's September 30 project update said resurfacing of the Riverside Park bike path, from the north lot at East Glendale Road to the south lot at Valley Park Drive, was behind schedule because of weather and expected to finish the following week. The same update said the Village's 2026 road rehabilitation work was done on Garfield Avenue south of Golf Road, Evergreen Court, Cedar Glen Drive and Court, Cass Avenue and Court, Young Drive, Adler Drive west of Cedar Glen Drive, and Cleveland Avenue. If your usual walk uses those streets, the construction crews should be gone by now.
December 12 at Cook Park
The last date on downtown's fall calendar is Dickens of a Holiday, Saturday, December 12, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It includes Santa photos at Cook Park and a Children's Holiday Shoppe at the Civic Center. That's six weeks after the Beer Garden closes, in the same park that hosts the tree lighting, a block from the streets where trick-or-treaters will be out tomorrow.
Sondra loves seeing Cook Park and Milwaukee Avenue fill up each season, and she keeps a close eye on how downtown Libertyville changes from one year to the next. If you're thinking about how the town around your own house has changed, Sondra Douglass is glad to talk it over, and she'll put together a home valuation for you whenever you're ready.
