Northwest Quarterly reported in May that market manager Katie Galto was watching the last of the construction fencing come down before the season opener. In the report, Galto said, "I think about Depot Park at least once a day right now." She also said, "I cannot wait for it to be done."
It got done. Depot Park reopened June 13 with a ribbon cutting, a set by Liv Antoinette and the Sticky Gumbo Band, and the first Saturday farmers market held inside the new $6.7 million renovation instead of around the old parking lot. Since then, roughly 20 vendors have set up most weekends through the summer, familiar names like Thomas' Tails and Honey Lake Bee Co. among them, drawing the usual mix of strollers, dog leashes, and canvas totes.
A Saturday farmers market brings a few hundred visitors spread across the morning. On September 25 and 26, the 33rd annual Johnny Appleseed Festival takes over downtown with a beer tent, a pumpkin train, and a petting zoo. The market's regular season runs June 13 through September 26, so the festival's Saturday is also the market's closing day. The festival and the market's final Saturday bring two downtown draws together over the same 48 hours.
The Festival Weekend at Depot Park
The numbers behind the renovation were always about capacity, not just aesthetics. City documents describe seating for more than 400 people, split between 152 fixed seats and room for another 271 on blankets and lawn chairs. The tiered seating doubles as a performance space when nothing is scheduled. A pergola with metal swings, two fountains, and a backlit wall that reads "Crystal Lake: A good place to live" round out the design, which leans on clay and glass brick to nod at the city's ice harvesting and terra cotta manufacturing history.
The farmers market brings a rolling crowd, with people arriving and leaving across a few hours. The Johnny Appleseed Festival adds a different schedule. Friday runs an expanded Taste of Downtown from 4 to 9 p.m. with live music and local food in the new park itself. Saturday stretches from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and layers a petting zoo, wagon rides, a pumpkin train, and inflatables into the parking lot next door, while the farmers market and a craft fair run the length of Williams Street. Together, the schedule brings a full day of activity to the park and nearby streets, with seating, performance space, and pedestrian flow part of the visitor experience.
Three New Storefronts Get Their First Big Weekend Too
The festival is not the only thing downtown that has changed since spring. Three restaurants opened within the same few months, and the timing means all three are entering their first Appleseed Festival as new businesses rather than as settled fixtures.
Florio's Italian opened June 1 at 1540 Carlemont Drive, a fine dining concept from Dominic Florio built around a menu developed with Siena born chef Renato Marmolino, with sections on the menu named for Roma, Bari, and Cosenza. It is the kind of white tablecloth opening downtown has not seen in a while, and Appleseed weekend will be its first real test of handling festival overflow rather than a normal Tuesday night.
CAVA opened this summer at 5689 Northwest Highway, its first location in McHenry County after a run of Chicago area openings in places like Kildeer, Vernon Hills, and Des Plaines. A fast casual Mediterranean chain landing in Crystal Lake says something about what the market believes this stretch of town can support in foot traffic.
And Lake Roots, a café with a curated market and bar, took over the former Mr. A's Italian Beef site on Route 14 at Dole Avenue. The business also acquired two adjacent properties rezoned from residential to commercial, with an addition and a patio planned along Dole Avenue, according to city filings. Its hours run late by downtown standards, open until midnight Friday and Saturday, which puts it in position to catch the after hours crowd once Taste of Downtown wraps up Friday night.
None of these three sit inside Depot Park itself, but all three sit close enough to absorb whatever overflow the festival generates. A resident walking off a plate of festival food and looking for a sit down dinner now has an option that did not exist in the spring.
What Else Is Booked Before the Leaves Turn
The festival is not the only date worth circling. The Crystal Lake Park District has tickets on sale for Hocus Pocus: Movie in the Park at Main Beach on October 2, complete with a costume contest and a black flame candle lighting ceremony, a reminder that the lake side of town runs its own separate calendar from the downtown one.
A short list of what is actually on the books between now and early October:
- September 25 to 26: Johnny Appleseed Festival, Downtown Crystal Lake, including the expanded Taste of Downtown at Depot Park
- September 26: final Saturday of the 2026 downtown farmers market season, running concurrently with the festival
- October 2: Hocus Pocus Movie in the Park, Main Beach
Downtown Crystal Lake has also said it is building a summer concert series, a wine walk, and sidewalk sales around the new park's amenities, though none of those have set dates yet. Worth watching for next year, not this one.
The Actual Takeaway
None of this changes anyone's mailing address or their property tax bill. The Johnny Appleseed Festival on September 25 and 26 coincides with the market's final Saturday, bringing a full day of activity to the renovated park. Add the three downtown dining openings since spring, and this stretch of Crystal Lake looks different than it did in May. Worth a walk through before the leaves turn, even if you have lived here for twenty years.
If you are weighing what any of this means for your own plans in Crystal Lake, whether that is a home you have been in for decades or one you are still picturing, Jennifer Haug is always glad to talk through it. Get your free home valuation and find out what your Crystal Lake property is worth in today's market.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
