Shops and restaurants along downtown Wilmette's core blocks will lose curbside parking and through-traffic for the weekend starting Friday, July 31, when the village shuts down two corridors for the fourth annual Wilmette Art Fair.
Wilmette Avenue from Poplar to Lake and Central Avenue from 11th to 12th Street close to traffic and parking at 5 p.m. Friday, according to the village. The closures clear the way for roughly 100 juried artist booths that will line both streets Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For business owners in the Metra station district, the exchange is familiar by now: two days without curbside parking in return for foot traffic from fairgoers. Amdur Productions, the Highland Park-based festival company producing the event, markets the fair's location as being "among upscale retail shops, galleries, cafes and restaurants" and notes Wilmette's average household income exceeds $200,000.
Event organizers are steering visitors toward downtown restaurants. Official fair materials encourage attendees to grab breakfast at nearby spots before browsing, and highlight Ouilmette Way, the pedestrian passage off Central Avenue, as a place to stop for lunch steps from the artist booths. Food trucks will also operate on-site.
How the fair started
The Village of Wilmette launched the fair in August 2023, partnering with Amdur Productions after the success of the village's 2022 sesquicentennial block party. Village Manager Mike Braiman said in January 2023 that "there was demand for some more events like this that we want to put on for community pride and continuing the vibrancy we have going."
Parking alternatives
Drivers heading downtown that weekend have four free lot options, per the village:
- Metra lot: Open after 2 p.m. Saturday (the Wilmette Farmers Market occupies it Saturday morning) and all day Sunday.
- Burmeister lot: Accessible via 11th Street at the public alley.
- Two lots south of Central Avenue: Reached off the alley via 11th Street.
- On-street parking outside the closure zone remains available.
The village's downtown parking map is posted at wilmetteil.maps.arcgis.com.
What else to know
Admission is free. The fair includes live music, art demonstrations, face painting, and a kids' art zone. Attendees can donate gently used art to the Chicago Furniture Bank at a drop-off near Wilmette Avenue and Poplar. The fair grounds are wheelchair- and stroller-accessible.
