VisitNW Illinois

09/03/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐰𝐩𝐚𝐰? 🍈

There’s one delicious way to find out. The 𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝘄𝗣𝗮𝘄 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 takes over Paw Paw, Illinois, Sept. 26—and our new blog has the scoop.

👉 READ "Meet the Pawpaw: Illinois’ Native Fruit Festival" https://link.vnwil.com/PawPaw

Enjoy Illinois

09/02/2026

🎨🚗📸🎬 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗶𝘀?

A little art. A little horsepower. A little photography. And a couple of movies on the BIG screen.

🎭 All the World’s a Stage — Dixon
On view at The Next Picture Show through Sept. 19

🚘 𝗥𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸 – 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻 — Sterling
Sept. 4 | The final Cruise In of the season at the Sterling Marketplace!

📸 𝗟𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 — Oregon
On view at the Coliseum Museum through Sept. 30

🎬 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘅𝗼𝗻 — Dixon
Sept. 4–5 | Two nights of classic movies at the Dixon Theatre

👉 Find these and plenty more on the VNWIL Event Calendar:
https://link.vnwil.com/events

Enjoy Illinois Discover Dixon Sterling Main Street The Next Picture Show Community Arts Center CMAAA

09/02/2026

The Pawpaw, one of the most unique culinary indulgences you can have! Taste it here in NW Illinois at the Pawpaw Festival in Paw Paw Illinois on September 26th!

This fruit was a favorite of George Washington—but has been largely forgotten.

09/01/2026

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆 🍈 Have you ever tasted a pawpaw? "𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙖𝙬𝙥𝙖𝙬: 𝙄𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙞𝙨’ 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙁𝙧𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙁𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡"
It’s tropical-tasting, native to North America—and notoriously difficult to find fresh.

On Sept. 26, Paw Paw, Illinois, celebrates its namesake fruit with a festival devoted to tasting, growing and enjoying all things pawpaw.

Our latest blog has the scoop, plus a little Paw Paw history and another fun stop while you’re in town. fest

👉 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: https://link.vnwil.com/PawPaw
Enjoy Illinois Visit Lee County

08/19/2026

🌾⛳🌌 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗣𝘂𝘁𝘁𝘀. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘀. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.

See how much there is to explore at Byron Forest Preserve in our newest travel blog.

👉 https://link.vnwil.com/BFPblog

Enjoy Illinois

08/16/2026

🌾 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘁𝘀, & 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘀—all in one stop.

Our 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 heads to Byron Forest Preserve, where visitors can wander the prairie, discover local history, meet a few four-legged residents, hit the links, and even look to the stars. 🌌

See what makes this Ogle County destination worth exploring:
https://link.vnwil.com/BFPblog

Enjoy Illinois

08/13/2026

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱. 📞 They’re looking pretty good. 😎

Art Exhibitions 🎨
Heritage Festival
River racing 🚤
Nature walks 🌾

Aug. 14–16 in Northwest Illinois!

👉 More events: https://link.vnwil.com/events

Enjoy Illinois Visit Rock Falls Friends of Nachusa Grasslands

08/11/2026

👀𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀?? Pick your adventure. 👀

🎨 𝗢𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — Ongoing through Sept. 12 | Still-life art at CMAAA in Oregon

🎶 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗻 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 — Aug. 14–16 | Three days of festival fun in downtown Rochelle

🚤 𝗥𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 — Aug. 15–16 | Two days of high-speed action on the Rock River

🌾𝗡𝗮𝗰𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗮 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 — Aug. 15 & 16 | Guided prairie walks in Franklin Grove

Four very different ways to spend an August weekend in Northwest Illinois. Which one are you picking?

👉 𝙎𝙚𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨 & 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨: https://link.vnwil.com/events

Enjoy Illinois Visit Rock Falls CMAAA Friends of Nachusa Grasslands

08/07/2026

🎭✨ One of Dixon's favorite summer traditions is almost here! VENETIAN NIGHT.

Street performers, family fun, great food, glow sticks, and a drone show that lights up the Rock River after dark—what more could you ask for?

📅 Saturday, Aug. 8 | 5–9 p.m.
🔗https://link.vnwil.com/VenetianNight2026

Enjoy Illinois Visit Lee County

08/06/2026

🎭✨ 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩. 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝘂𝗻.

From street performers and family activities to food, glow sticks, and a spectacular drone show after dark, 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 is one of Dixon's favorite summer traditions.

📅 Saturday, Aug. 8 | 5–9 p.m. (Drone show at dark)

🔗 https://link.vnwil.com/VenetianNight2026

Enjoy Illinois Discover Dixon Visit Lee County