Ten Small Towns in Illinois Worth a Visit

Q 98.5 FM, Rockford, Illinois.  Johnny V.

The site has pictures and information as to why it was chosen.  I'm just listing.

1.  Galena

2.  Alton

3.  Quincy

4.  Effingham

5.  Woodstock

6.  St. Charles

7.  Metropolis

8.  Byron

9.  Grafton

10.  Carbondale

--RoadNois

Bucket List of Illinois Events-- Part 2: Superman, Milk and a Taste

5.  HARVARD MILK DAYS,  Harvard  Early June

Billed as the state's longest-running hometown festival started in 1942.  I remember dropping one of our actives off  in Harvard after taking him for a ride when I was pledging Delta Sigma Phi in 1970 and thinking about taking the cow statue downtown for a ride.  We didn't.

6.  SUPERMAN CELEBRATION, Metropolis   Early June

Way downstate, but with a name like this town has, you'd kind of have to do this.  See the 15-foot-tall statue of "favorite son."

7. MORE ON 34    US Highway 34  Aurora to Galesburg    Mid-June

All sorts of stuff for sale in flea markets, yard sales and etc..

Lincoln Highway also has a Lincoln Buy-Way along its route during the summer.

8.  McHENRY FIESTA DAYS / ANTIOCH TASTE OF SUMMER  McHenry and Antioch

These two towns are about twenty miles apart and have these two festivals at the same time.  We live right between them and I keep trying to get them to have it at different times, but no luck yet.

--RoadDog

Small Illinois Towns Offering Offbeat Attractions for Tourism-- Part 1: The Economic Impact of Kitsch

From he July 29, 2018, Chicago Tribune  "Offbeat attractions bring small towns big notoriety" by Samantha Bomkamp.

There are no fancy waterparks or beaches in Casey, Illinois.  As a matter of fact, it is pretty far from anything.  But, if you want to see things big, this small town, population 2,700, does have some large things to see.  One is the world's largest mail box and hat is just one thing they have which is the "biggest."  Since the first one was built ten years ago, these giant items have sparked a lot of business on Main Street.

Casey is just one of a handful of small one-stoplight towns in central and southern Illinois which have adopted quirky claims to fame.

An hour's drive south of Casey, tiny Olney has white squirrels -- a genetic oddity.  Then, Metropolis, at the southern tip of Illinois,  hangs on to its title as the "Hometown of Superman" and they have been doing that for 40 years.

These oddities help bring the tourists and there is a definite economic impact.

Call it the Economic Impact of Kitsch.  --RoadDog