Ravinia Festival Assn

Went to the July 11th Tom Jones Concet at Ravinia. Caught Tom 25 years ago and it was a fabulous show. Took mom to this one as she loves Tom Jones. What a huge disappointment. First of all, the opening band... it was so bad I didn't bother to remember their name but a band playing dixie land music as an opening act to Tom Jones? I am still shuddering from it. Then Tom..what happened? Where was the power, the verve his voice used to carry? He started his set late around 845pm. We couldn't stand it anymore. We were out of the parking lot by 920 pm. Horrible.. beyond horrible. Best time was just people watching, enjoying the venue, landscaping and the weather. Pros: The atmosphere Cons: Tom Jones and the horrible opening dixieland band more

I have been to many many concerts in my life, but the Tom Jones concert at Ravinia last sunday night was the best! It recently was my 86 year old mothers birthday, my 2 sisters birthdays, and my best friends birthday. So as a gift I purchased on line lawn tickets at Ravinia for the Tom Jones concert for July 16th. It was my first time there and was even better than what I had expected. We got there when the gates opened and set up our chairs, food, and drinks but stiil could not see the stage. If we had spent more money on regular seats we could have seen Tom. Instead, we started a major dance party when he came on, pulled out our big bag of undies, and started flinging them through the air! People of all ages joined in all around us! It was amazing! I can't wait to go back! more

Ravinia Festival is truly unique, in that you may see concerts in several different venues all on the premises. Wine and beer flow freely on the lawn, although the majority of Ravinia goers appear to consider overly evident mass consumption of alcohol inappropriate. The only negative aspect of Ravinia is the parking situation. If you cannot afford yourself enough time to enter the park a couple hours before the concert begins, you will be hard-pressed to find adequate lawn space for your group of people on sold out nights. The Ravinia parking lot fills quickly, and while there is parking in downtown Highland Park complete with a free shuttle, this adds another 30-60 minutes to the commute precious time when finding lawn space on a busy night. All in all, however, Ravinia is unique and well worth it. I challenge you to find a concert experience like it! Pros: Clean Facilities, Inexpensive, Unique Experience Cons: Parking, High Concession Price, Lawn Often "Oversold" more

Spread the blanket, kick off your shoes and uncork the wine. This is a great place to relax, savor the symphony and the summer evening. It can be a bargain, too, if you buy lawn tickets and bring your dinner. Metra's the way to get there. Pros: casual, accessible by train Cons: pricey consessions more

I love packing a picnic and sitting on the lawn at Ravinia. It's such a beautiful venue and the music is unbeatable--from the Chicago Symphony to touring headline acts. The Metra is the best way to get there and it's fairly inexpensive. There's a special round-trip Ravinia fare that makes it even more worthwhile for concertgoers, and you don't have to worry about the hassle of parking. It's a great idea for an inexpensive date if you bring you own food and wine. Pros: Romantic spot, Great shows, Clean bathrooms more