Find fun and exciting events happening in Illinois in April.
Holi – The Festival of Colors
April 5, 2026, Naperville
Head to Rotary Hill in Naperville to celebrate the arrival of spring by throwing handfuls of brightly colored powder at friends at Holi – The Festival of Colors. This Hindu festival celebrates spring, love and new life with the color throwing, in addition to live music, dancing and food vendors offering delicious Indian cuisine. The festival will supply bags of organic, safe, dry colors for a small donation of $2.50 each. For safety and health reasons, only colors distributed at the festival are permitted. For more details, visit thefestivalofcolors.org.
Boneyard Arts Festival
April 10-12, 2026, Champaign County
This countywide festival, presented by 40 North, brings together local artists, businesses and organizations for a three-day art celebration. The event takes place in over 90 venues and features the work of more than 100 local artists. Painters, sculptors, weavers, photographers, musicians, poets, actors, dancers and more share and sell their work throughout the weekend. Find more information at 40north.org/programs/boneyard or facebook.com/boneyardarts.
Southern Illinois Sheep and Craft Festival
April 11, 2026, Waterloo
Held at the Monroe County Fairgrounds in Waterloo each spring, the Southern Illinois Sheep & Craft Festival celebrates the county’s sheep farms with a day of fun activities for the whole family. Highlights include shearing demonstrations, a working sheepdog exhibition, a sheep show, a youth judging contest, a kids’ tractor pull, wool and craft vendors, and vacuum-packed frozen lamb cuts for sale. The festival also hosts a Lamb Lunch, which includes a plate of locally raised lamb – a chop, brat, shaved leg and burger – with a choice of two sides. The event takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more details, visit mcsheepproducers.com or call 618-830-2183.
Citywide Yard Sale
April 17-18, 2026, Columbia
Find your next great buy at one of more than 100 yard sales taking place in Columbia during the second weekend in April. Discover why one person’s trash is another person’s treasure at this spring kickoff to the yard sale season. From clothes to furniture to toys and beyond, you probably won’t go home empty-handed after perusing so many sales in one place.
Visit columbiaillinois.com for a directory of sales a few days before the event, as times of sales vary depending on location. While in Columbia, located just 12 miles south of St. Louis, check out the Historic Main Street area and enjoy the German heritage of this town on the bluffs of the Mississippi River.
Stephenson County Fiber Art Fair
April 18, 2026, Cedarville
The Stephenson County Fiber Art Fair returns to Cedarville. A celebration of fiber and the fiber arts, the fair features spinning and weaving demonstrations and creative workshops in fiber skills for beginners, advanced fiber artists and all levels in between. Visitors will also enjoy browsing the fair’s vendor booths offering fibers and supplies for spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting, felting and dyeing, as well as finished yarn, dyes, equipment, gifts and more.
Fair admission is $3 for adults and free for children under 12. Visit scfiberartfair.com or call 815-541-0897 for more information.
Midwest Daffodil Society Show
April 18-19, 2026, Chicago
Daffodils are the reason for the (spring) season at the Midwest Daffodil Society Show at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Hundreds of the iconic yellow flowers will be on display, competing for top prizes in areas such as floral design, cut blooms and photography. Society members will judge and award prizes accordingly. This event is open to daffodil growers of all skill levels. Whether competing or not, everyone can enjoy plenty of delightful displays and designs. For more information, visit chicagobotanic.org or call 847-835-5440.
Family Eco Festival
April 19, 2026, Alto Pass
The Family Eco Festival returns to Alto Vineyards for its fifth year this spring. Visit from 1 to 5 p.m. for an afternoon of family-friendly fun and learning centered around STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. Highlights include hands-on activities focused on the environment, arts and crafts, live music, and local vendors. There will also be a silent auction and donation opportunities, with proceeds going toward providing resources and assistance to southern Illinois STEM teachers. For more information, visit altovineyards.net or call 618-893-4898.
Mushroom Festival & Morel Mushroom Hunt
April 19, 2026, Grafton
This annual festival at Pere Marquette Lodge celebrates its 17th year in 2026. Free and open to the public, the family-friendly event features indoor and outdoor vendors, live music on the winery patio, goat yoga, and morel mushroom hunting. The Great Morel Hunt will be held at 1 p.m. (weather permitting) and is free and open to foragers of all ages and experience levels. When the hunt is over, bring your delicious delicacies back to the lodge to find out who found the biggest, smallest and most morels. Winners in each category will receive a free night at the lodge. The festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit pmlodge.net/events/mushroom-festival or call 618-786-2331 for more information.
Midwest Tulip Fest
Select dates April through May (dependent on blooms), Maple Park
Kuipers Family Farm in Maple Park hosts its annual Midwest Tulip Fest for three weeks each spring when the farm’s 7 acres of colorful tulip fields burst into bloom. Visit the farm to walk through the beautiful fields featuring 500,000 tulips in 31 varieties, then cut and purchase your own to take home from the U-pick fields. The festival also includes family-friendly activities, live entertainment, and shopping for tasty spring treats and seasonal decor at The Farmstand. Be sure to check out the farm’s online “bloom-o-meter” to see what percentage of the tulips have bloomed before planning your trip. For more details, including festival dates and admission pricing, visit kuipersfamilyfarm.com or call 815-827-5200.
Spring Fest at Eastern Illinois University
April 23-25, 2026, Charleston
Sponsored by Eastern Illinois University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Doudna Fine Arts Center, Spring Fest promotes the work of local Illinois artists while raising funds for art and design scholarships for university students. Visitors can browse about 30 artists’ booths and a consignment area for unique, handcrafted products, watch artist demonstrations, participate in hands-on art activities and more. The festival also features live musical entertainment and food vendors. For more information and a full festival schedule, visit eiu.edu/festival or call 217-581-6060 or 217-581-3410.
Southern Illinois Steel Guitar Show
April 24-25, 2026, Mount Vernon
Visit the DoubleTree Inn and Conference Center in Mount Vernon this April for three days of classic country music featuring the steel guitar at the annual Southern Illinois Steel Guitar Show. This special event presents some of the best steel guitar players in the world as well as local and regional players, singers, vendors and more. Both one-day tickets and three-day passes are available, and all funds raised beyond the cost of producing the shows are donated to Shriners Hospitals for Children. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit southernillinoisproductions.org or call 618-967-4635.
Richardson Tulip Festival
Mid-April through Mid-May, Spring Grove
Visit Richardson Adventure Farm this spring to see hundreds of thousands of colorful tulips in full bloom at the annual Richardson Tulip Festival. Planted in a beautiful setting near a 36-acre lake, the flower fields feature 30 tulip varieties in colorful blocks as well as a pick-your-own area of mixed colors. In addition to the spectacular flower display, the festival includes weekend music, games and food trucks. Exact festival dates will depend on weather and when the tulips bloom, but the event typically runs for about two to three weeks between mid-April and mid-May each year.
For up-to-date information about this year’s event, visit richardsonadventurefarm.com or facebook.com/richardsonfarmexperience or call 815-675-9729.
Junque Jamboree
April 25, 2026, Vienna
Browse for unique goods, antiques and collectibles from more than 100 vendors at the semiannual Johnson County Junque Jamboree organized by Vienna Town Square Mall. Booths will offer everything from crafts and home decor to clothing, jewelry, furniture and much more. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the historic Vienna Town Square. Visit facebook.com/ViennaTSM for more details.
Village Wide Yard Sale
April 25, 2026, New Baden
Shop till you drop at the Village Wide Yard Sale in New Baden, an annual event held the last Saturday of April.
To scout the daylong sale, simply pick up a list of participating residents’ addresses and types of items they’ll have for sale – available at the New Baden Chamber of Commerce and various local businesses – and get ready to bargain hunt. Participants pay a $5 fee to register their yard sale with proceeds benefiting the village’s annual Breakfast with Santa and Kids Christmas Party.
To learn more about New Baden’s Village Wide Yard Sale, visit newbadenil.com or call 618-588-3813.
Sound of Illinois Chorus, Illinois State University
Select dates in April, Normal
Enjoy the sweet, sweet sound of a cappella music with the Sound of Illinois chorus. This group, which competes at the international Barbershop Harmony Society competition, brings together musically inclined men of central Illinois to enrich the community. The Sound of Illinois entertains audiences with four-part harmonies and creative musical arrangements and an infectious positive energy. This year’s show will feature hits from Johnny Cash, Garth Brooks and more. To learn about the group’s performances, or to inquire about joining, visit soundofillinois.org.
Grant’s Home Front
April 25-26, 2026, Galena
Experience living history firsthand at the annual Grant’s Home Front in Galena. This historic town where President Ulysses S. Grant lived from 1860 to 1865 will host folks from across the state and surrounding area. Witness Confederate and Union infantry dressed in period-specific clothing re-enacting battle scenes from the Civil War fought along the riverfront. Battles take place on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. For more information, visit tristatehistoricalpresentations.blogspot.com.
Rend Lake Water Festival
2026 dates TBD, Benton
The Rend Lake Water Festival returns to Benton for its 52nd year in 2025 with a weeklong lineup of family-friendly activities. The communitywide celebration of Rend Lake includes everything from a carnival and parade to live music, a vintage car show, a 5K run, a vendor fair and more. For more information and the complete schedule of festivities, visit bentonwestcitychamber.com or call 618-438-2121.
Pick-Your-Own Asparagus and Strawberries
Select dates April through May, Belleville
Pick-your-own Asparagus season kicks off mid-April and is followed shortly after by pick-your-own strawberries in May. Eckert’s farms have a strict reservation-only system in place for socially distanced fun and time slots must be purchased in advance online. The farm requires guests to wear masks, provides handwashing stations before entering the fields, and sets dividers between families who ride the wagon to the fields. The adapted pick-your-own experiences allow guests to enjoy time in the outdoors and make family memories while remaining safe and socially distanced. Learn more at eckerts.com.
Share Your Illinois Event
Are we missing your favorite July events in Illinois? Send the details to ilfbpartners@farmflavormedia.com, and we may feature them on this website and in a future issue of Illinois Partners magazine.
