Notable Events & Festivals The following annual events have become traditions in the Decatur/Forsyth area, eagerly anticipated by locals and visitors alike. For more information on these events, plus a comprehensive listing of all events and tournaments in the Decatur/Forsyth area, please go to our Calendar page. Jazz Festival | Mardi Gras | Lakeside Music & Arts Festival | Cruisin' Downtown
Put on by Decatur’s Juvae Jazz Society, this celebration of all types of jazz happens in early February each year and is held at the Decatur Conference Center & Hotel. Hundreds of folks come from all around the Midwest to spend the weekend partying, dancing, parading and listening to great jazz musicians with their friends. Book early, as the festival fills up fast!
Downtown Mardi Gras The Saturday night before Ash Wednesday each year brings partiers to downtown Decatur for our version of Fat Tuesday. Downtown Mardi Gras features a daytime Mardi Gras parade and in the evening - Cajun food and drink specialties at downtown restaurants, bands, beads, and dancin’ in the streets until the wee hours! Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Lakeside Music & Arts Festival
Cruisin' Downtown
Decatur Celebration
August Fest Art show, car show, kids arts, antiques & collectibles, craft booths. This year’s August Fest is scheduled for August 11, 2007. Decatur Conference Center & Hotel. Ballroom dancing with four different orchestras over the Labor Day Weekend. 2007 marks the 24th year for the festival.
Arts in Central Park This juried art show has been taking place in downtown Decatur for over 40 years. Held in Central Park, the show features art in every form, available for sale or just to see. Paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolor; photography; pottery; textile art; hand-maid jewelry; sculpture…it can all be found Friday evening through Sunday, the third weekend in September every year. The fair also features food vendors, beverage service, live music and other forms of artistic entertainment throughout each day.
Farm Progress Show The 2007 Farm Progress Show runs August 28-29-30. |
The Lakeside Music & Arts Festival takes place in Nelson Park alongside beautiful Lake Decatur on the weekend before July 4th each year. This top shelf undertaking spotlights the best in art, music, theater arts and culinary arts and features: 
This day-long classic car show takes place in downtown Decatur’s Central Park and the streets of downtown, the second Thursday of July every year. This must-see show attracts nearly 500 of the finest classic automobiles in the Midwest. Food vendors, disk jockeys by day and live retro music by night. This is a fun family event that thousands look forward to attending each summer. 
The largest free family street festival in the Midwest. Twenty-two square blocks of Downtown Decatur, Illinois are closed off from Friday night through Sunday on the first weekend in August of each year. Imagine eleven stages with continuous live entertainment; a special square-block area with activities just for kids; your favorite celebrities and historic figures roaming around (impersonators in costume); over 150 acts and attractions to enjoy; food from every corner of the world; craft and souvenir stands; games, contests and big name headline entertainment. Decatur Celebration requires over 1,500 volunteers, and attracts over 300,000 in attendance over the course of the weekend. 
Progress City, U.S.A. adjacent to Richland Community College in Decatur, Illinois is the epicenter of farm technology during the last week of August biennially in odd-numbered years. More than 450 exhibitors bring their best new tools and technology to show visitors from all over the world. During the 54-year history of the Farm Progress Show, the event has grown to become the top spot for unveiling new products for the fall selling season.Whether you're talking new "hardware" in the form of farm machines and implements or the "software" of seeds and technology, the show offers plenty to see.