By: Ashmar Mandou

Everyone knows that Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kick-off to summer. While high-profile events, such as Lollapalooza, Windy City Smokeout, Printers Row Lit Fest, and the Chicago House Music Festival are on the radar for many Chicagoans, Deputy Director for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the Illinois Office of Tourism Catie Sheehan is encouraging people to venture out to smaller towns to discover the uniqueness and charm of lesser known events. “There is so much to see and do across the State of Illinois. And while Chicago does have many beautiful attractions we want residents to see that there is also so much beauty just outside the City lines. So many fun street fairs that are family-friendly that we hope travelers get to experience and realize that there is so much fun to be had across the State of Illinois,” said Sheehan. Sheehan spoke to Lawndale News about what she considers to be an underrated gem.

Lawndale News: Memorial Day weekend is widely considered the “unofficial kick-off to summer.” How much fun is had at the Illinois Office of Tourism while curating a go-to list of events?
Catie Sheehan: It is so fun just in general to have a job where we are telling people, kind of how to enjoy their free time and all the different ideas and attractions that are available right here in the State of Illinois. So, it’s such a pleasure to be able to do that and to have a wide variety of events. So see creative people across the state take steps to organize these events. We know that it’s no small task, so it’s really awesome.

LN: Are there areas in Illinois that you, personally feel are underrated?
CS: In general, I feel like Southern Illinois is an underrated gem…maybe to Chicagoans because it’s a far drive, but it’s worth it. It feels, to me, like Southern Illinois has so much beauty with Shawnee National Forest. There are some real beautiful attractions within the forest and then you can do hiking, rock climbing, you can see beautiful waterfalls. There’s a lot of things in Southern Illinois where people see pictures of and think, ‘Is that Colorado,’ or ‘Is that Utah,’ but it’s Southern Illinois. It’s a beautiful place to “touch grass,” as they say and to get out and enjoy nature. But there’s also a lot of locally-owned restaurants, attractions that people put a lot of effort into to make sure people have a nice stay.

LN: Illinois is celebrating a big milestone. What events are planned in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Route 66?
CS: Yes! Pretty much every city along Route 66 in Illinois, from Chicago to Joliet to Bloomington to Springfield, will be celebrating with planned events throughout the year; kicking off most of those events this summer. Festivals that are different from each other, just celebrating the communities and celebrating Route 66 as a whole. For example, in Springfield there’s the Mother Road Festival where visitors can enjoy looking at classic cars and live music. In Lincoln, they are unveiling a Route 66 statue, which will be a giant copper penny to highlight the centennial in mid-June. So that gives people a reason to stop and check it out. Especially now that the penny is out of circulation…this statue will be bigger and better than ever [laughs].

LN: How would you encourage people to be a tourist in their own city and state?
CS: There’s so much out there. Pay attention to what’s new because there are so many cool things that are coming out, like the Obama Presidential Center coming to Chicago this summer. There are so many new things and events that are attractions for people all over the world, so put that into prospective. People may be traveling international to come see some of this stuff and it is right here in your backyard. So you might as well get out and see it. It also helps to support our local communities. Tourism is super important.

A few summer festival the Illinois Office of Tourism highlights include the Evanston Art & Big Fork Festival, August 22nd to 23rd, the Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival (Bloomington) May 2nd and 3rd where the event marks the iconic Route 66’s 100th anniversary with tours, exhibits and local stops that stretch along the historic route, the Dragon’s Fire Balloon Fest (Perkins) June 26th and 27th, featuring plenty of hot air balloons and live entertainment, and the MSC Superman Celebration (Metropolis) June 12th through 14th where Superman fans can rejoice and cosplay. For a full list of itineraries, or for help in planning your next adventure, head over to www.enjoyillinois.com

Photo Credit: Illinois Office of Tourism