Notable Events & Festivals

Jazz Festival | Lakeside Music & Arts Festival
Decatur Celebration | Arts in Central Park | Farm Progress Show
Blues In Central Park | Futures Golf Championship

Central Illinois Jazz Festival
www.juvaejazz.com

Put on by Decatur’s Juvae Jazz Society, this celebration of all types of jazz happens in early February each year and is held at the Decatur Conference Center & Hotel. Hundreds of folks come from all around the Midwest to spend the weekend partying, dancing, parading and listening to great jazz musicians with their friends. Book early, as the festival fills up fast!

Lakeside Music & Arts Festival

The Lakeside Music & Arts Festival takes place in Nelson Park alongside beautiful Lake Decatur on the weekend of July 4th each year. This top-shelf undertaking spotlights the best in art, music, theater arts and culinary arts and features:

Daytime hours 10:00-6:00
Nighttime stage hours 6:00-10:30

Decatur Celebration
www.decaturcelebration.com

The largest free family street festival in the Midwest. Twenty-two square blocks of Downtown Decatur, Illinois are closed off from Friday night through Sunday on the first weekend in August of each year. Imagine eleven stages with continuous live entertainment; a special square-block area with activities just for kids; your favorite celebrities and historic figures roaming around (impersonators in costume); over 150 acts and attractions to enjoy; food from every corner of the world; craft and souvenir stands; games, contests and big name headline entertainment. Decatur Celebration requires over 1,500 volunteers, and attracts over 300,000 in attendance over the course of the weekend.

Arts in Central Park
www.decaturarts.org

This juried art show has been taking place in downtown Decatur for over 40 years. Held in Central Park, the show features art in every form, available for sale or just to see. Paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolor; photography; pottery; textile art; handmade jewelry; sculpture…it can all be found Friday evening through Sunday, the third weekend in September every year. The fair also features food vendors, beverage service, live music and other forms of artistic entertainment throughout each day.

Farm Progress Show
www.farmprogressshow.com

Progress City, U.S.A. adjacent to Richland Community College in Decatur, Illinois is the epicenter of farm technology during the last week of August biennially in odd-numbered years. More than 450 exhibitors bring their best new tools and technology to show visitors from all over the world. During the 54-year history of the Farm Progress Show, the event has grown to become the top spot for unveiling new products for the fall selling season. Whether you're talking new "hardware" in the form of farm machines and implements or the "software" of seeds and technology, the show offers plenty to see.

The 2013 Farm Progress Show runs August 27 - August 29, 2013 in Decatur, Illinois. We invite International Participants to Pre-Register for the Farm Progress Show.

Farm Progress Show 2013 Times

8 am - 5 pm Tuesday August 27, 2013
8 am - 5 pm Wednesday August 28, 2013
8 am - 4 pm Thursday August 29, 2013

Blues in Central Park Concert Series
www.decaturmagazine.com

Enjoy free outdoor Blues concerts on the Central Park Stage in downtown Decatur, Illinois!

Bring your lawn chairs and your appetite for great BBQ and Blues.

Food and beverage vendors open at 6:00 p.m. and bands play from 7-10 p.m. Third Thursdays in June, July and August.

Tate & Lyle Players Championship
www.tateandlyleplayerschampionship.com

Hickory Point Golf Course
727 Weaver Rd.
Forsyth, IL 62535

The Tate & Lyle Players Championship is the longest running tournament, and the only major championship, on the LPGA FUTURES Tour. This year, the tournament will take place at Hickory Point Golf Club. The tournament will feature one of the largest purses on the tour at $125,000 and showcase a four day, all caddied, 72-hole stroke play professional tournament.

For almost 31 years, the Tate & Lyle Players Championship has been a fixture on the Decatur summer calendar. Fans throughout Central Illinois travel to Decatur to watch as 156 players from the United States, and around the world, compete to earn their spot on the LPGA Tour. Past champions have included two-time winner Tammie Green, Marilyn Lovander, Vicky Hurst, and four-time Rolex LPGA Player of the Year Award winner Lorena Ochoa.

For more information, call (217) 233-3391