NEWS TO USE
Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently:
■ Downtown Wisconsin Dells, Wis., will be hopping Sept. 28-29 during the Kilbourn City Live music and arts festival. Headliners will be Shooter Jennings and American Authors. There will also be food trucks and local craft beers. Tickets can be purchased online. www.kilbourncitylive.com
■ Zephyr Route Rail Tours is offering a fall rail trip to St. Paul, Minn., Oct. 5-7. Travel will be in a restored vintage dome car, leaving Chicago on Oct. 5 and also making a stop in Glenview. Parts of the route will follow the upper Mississippi River. Included are a white tablecloth dinner on the train, two nights’ lodging in St. Paul and two breakfasts. There’s an optional Twin Cities tour the morning of Oct. 6. The tour is priced at $899 per person, double occupancy. 630-542-3607, tinyurl.com/y8bv2xg7.
■ The fifth annual Blue Harbor Craft Beer Festival will be Sept. 22 along the shore of Lake Michigan at Blue Harbor Resort & Conference Center in Sheboygan, Wis. There will be more than 100 beer and cider samples available from 30-plus breweries. There will also be live music. General admission and VIP tickets may be purchased online. tinyurl .com/yd2asx5h
■ The Galena, Ill., Lions Club will hold its 12th annual Galena Oktoberfest on Sept. 22 at Depot Park. As with any Oktoberfest, there will be plenty of beer, along with German-style food, live music, wiener dog racing, and polka dancing and lessons. tinyurl.com /9kzms4w
■ The Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area near Morris, Ill., holds its 21st annual Prairie Day on Sept. 15. Indoor and outdoor activities include a Native American culture presentation and interpretive wagon rides on the prairie with a naturalist. Food will be available. tinyurl.com /yajw55kg
■ Block Bash, Sept. 14-16 in downtown French Lick, Ind., will feature master chainsaw carvers doing their thing, with the final creations then put on the auction block. There will also be live music, wine and beer gardens, a car show and more. tinyurl.com /y8fz9vrv
■ The La Porte Sunflower Fair will be Sept. 15 in La Porte, Ind. There will be a sunflower contest, antique car show, live music, rib cook-off, carnival rides and artist displays. www .sunflowerfair.com
■ The Cedarburg, Wis., Wine & Harvest Festival is back Sept. 15-16 for its 46th year. Cedar Creek Winery will be selling wine by the glass, bottle or case and will be holding kids and adult grape stomps. Apple brats will be among the many food items available, and there will be three Milwaukee bands playing. A Packer Legends tent will give Green Bay Packer fans a chance to meet several former players who will sign memorabilia. tinyurl .com/yc9comuu
■ The Lilac Tree Suites & Spa on Michigan’s popular Mackinac Island has a special on select dates through October. Stay two or more nights, and get $52 off the second night, which covers the cost of two round-trip ferry tickets to get to the island. tinyurl .com/yck59vuw
■ The Prime Music Festival, billed as the nation’s biggest collegiate music festival, will be Sept. 14 in Urbana, Ill., and Sept. 14-15 in Lansing, Mich. The Urbana fest will be at the Champaign County Fairgrounds, and the Lansing fest will be at Adado Riverfront Park. Among artists who will appear at both venues are Russ, Lil Skies and Smokepurpp. www.primefestival.com
■ Beers of the World will be Sept. 14 at the Rochester International Event Center in Rochester, Minn. This fundraiser for Bear Creek Services, which helps people with developmental disabilities, will feature beer samples as well as whiskey, scotch and other spirits. Admission includes food, and there’s also a beer education booth staffed by local beermakers. tinyurl .com/yakufzug
■ Step back into the past during the St. Louis Renaissance Festival, Saturdays and Sundays Sept. 15 to Oct. 14 at Rotary Park in Wentzville, Mo. Theme weekends include Celtic Games, Pirates & Plunder, Pet Fest, Oktoberfest and Sweet Endings. As with your typical Renaissance fest, there will be jousting, street performers, roving musicians, and lots of food and drink. There will also be a juggling school and a puppet troupe. 636-6395173, www.stlrenfest.com