Widow’s Harvest is a three day independent music and arts gathering held in Plano, Illinois focused on community, creativity, camping, and live music. This is a grassroots event built by artists, organizers, volunteers, and attendees who genuinely care about creating something special together.

This is not a giant corporate festival. People here tend to know each other by the end of the weekend. That atmosphere matters to us.

Absolutely.

Widow’s Harvest is intended to be a welcoming, family friendly environment built around community, music, creativity, camping, and shared experience. Kids are welcome and encouraged to be part of the weekend when supervised responsibly. In fact, kids 12 and under are free with a paying adult!

We ask everybody attending to use common sense, respect the people around them, and contribute positively to the atmosphere of the festival.

Widow’s Harvest offers several different ways to stay onsite throughout the weekend depending on how close to the action you want to be and how comfortably you prefer to sleep.

Camping
Camping is available Friday and Saturday night for attendees who purchase both a Weekend Pass and a Camping Pass.
Camping passes are priced per person, not per campsite. This is communal festival camping rather than individually assigned campground plots.
If you intend to stay overnight onsite, you must purchase a Camping Pass in addition to your admission ticket.

RV Electric Sites
Limited RV Electric Sites are available and include access to electrical hookup service.
RV site reservations are separate from festival admission and camping access. All RV attendees must still purchase a Weekend Pass.
RV spaces are limited and reserved specifically for vehicles requiring electrical hookup access. These spots are first come, first serve, so arrive early for the best locations!

B&B Bunkhouse Rooms
Limited bunkhouse style lodging is also available onsite for attendees looking for a little more comfort at the end of the night.
These private rooms sleep up to three people and include air conditioning with access to communal indoor bathrooms and showers.
The bunkhouses are located across the field from the main festival grounds, which means guests are slightly removed from the late night campsite activity and noise. For many people, that winds up being the perfect balance between staying immersed in the experience while still having a quieter and more comfortable place to sleep. Think of it less like a hotel and more like a relatively nice summer camp hostel setup with a comfortable bed, a cool room, and a place to recharge for the next day’s festivities.

Accommodations are limited and will sell out in advance. Book early.

Meal Passes include:

Friday Dinner
Saturday Breakfast
Saturday Lunch
Saturday Dinner
Sunday Breakfast

Meals are prepared and served in house by festival staff and volunteers.

Some dietary restrictions can be accommodated, but please speak with festival organizers or meal staff as early as possible during the event so we can do our best to work with you.

Individual plates and à la carte food items will also be available throughout the weekend for attendees without a Meal Pass.

Festival admission, camping, lodging, RV sites, and Meal Passes are all sold separately and must be purchased individually.

For example:

A Weekend Pass gets you into the festival.
A Camping Pass allows you to stay onsite overnight for the whole weekend.
An RV Electric Site reserves RV space and electrical hookup access.
A Meal Pass covers meals throughout the weekend.
B&B Rooms are separate lodging accommodations.

If you plan to camp overnight, you must purchase both a Weekend Pass and a Camping Pass.

If you arrive intending to camp without a Camping Pass, you will be required to purchase one onsite if availability remains. Camping capacity is limited and we cannot guarantee additional camping availability at the gate.

The same applies to RV sites, Meal Passes, and B&B accommodations. Once capacities are reached, they are gone.

Please double check your order before arriving at the festival.

No.

Widow’s Harvest operates under a nonprofit 501(c)(3) structure and ticket purchases directly support the costs associated with hosting the festival including artist guarantees, production expenses, campground rental, infrastructure, insurance, permits, sanitation, and operational staffing.

Because of these contractual and operational obligations, all ticket sales are final and non refundable unless the event itself is canceled.

Please make sure you can attend before purchasing tickets. You are more than welcome to give your tickets away.

Widow’s Harvest is a rain or shine event unless severe weather creates unsafe conditions.

Bring appropriate camping gear, footwear, clothing layers, and weather protection. Midwestern weather can change quickly.

Small contained campfires are allowed, depending on local conditions and burn advisories at the time of the event. Additional guidance will be provided closer to the festival weekend.

Absolutely no unattended fires.

Alcohol will be available for purchase onsite.

BYOB is also allowed within camping areas and personal campsites, however outside alcohol will likely not be permitted inside designated performance areas.

Please follow all applicable Illinois laws regarding cannabis possession and consumption.

Most importantly, handle your shit.

Widow’s Harvest is intended to be a respectful, family friendly environment. If you choose to consume cannabis, use common sense, be considerate of the people around you, and keep it away from children and crowded common areas. Public intoxication, reckless behavior, harassment, unsafe conduct, or creating problems for staff, artists, vendors, or other attendees will not be tolerated regardless of the substance involved.

Nobody cares if people have a drink or a toke around a campfire. People absolutely will care if somebody is acting reckless, aggressive, destructive, invasive, or making other attendees uncomfortable.

Don’t act like an idiot and everybody will have a good weekend.

Yes.

Well behaved pets are welcome at Widow’s Harvest.

Please be respectful of other attendees, keep pets under control at all times, and clean up after them. Loud environments, crowds, and live music can be stressful for some animals, so use good judgment and prioritize your pet’s safety and comfort.

Aggressive or disruptive animals may be asked to leave.

Absolutely.

All attendees must wear their festival wristband at all times for re-entry access.

Please do not remove or tamper with wristbands during the weekend.

Yes. General parking is included with admission.

Please follow all parking staff instructions and avoid blocking roads, emergency lanes, camping access points, or neighboring areas.

Yes.

Restroom facilities and shower access will be available throughout the festival grounds.

Please help us keep shared facilities clean and usable for everybody throughout the weekend.

Recommended items include:

Tent and camping supplies
Weather appropriate clothing
Flashlights or lanterns
Portable chargers
Reusable water bottles
Chairs and blankets
Ear protection
Comfortable footwear
Cash for merch, vendors and tips

No weapons
No fireworks or explosives
No illegal substances
No attitudes
No aggressive behavior
No harassment of attendees, staff, volunteers, or artists
No destruction of property
No unauthorized vending
No open flames outside approved areas
Festival staff reserve the right to remove anybody creating unsafe conditions or violating festival rules.

Absolutely. One of the things that makes Widow’s Harvest special is that artists, attendees, organizers, and volunteers all share the same space in a much more personal and communal way than larger commercial festivals.

That said, respect matters.

Please remember that performers are people first. Be respectful of personal space, downtime, campsites, conversations, and boundaries. Most artists are happy to talk, hang out, and connect with people throughout the weekend, but nobody wants to deal with somebody acting reckless, entitled, invasive, or disrespectful.

Widow’s Harvest works because we make every effort possible to create a comfortable, welcoming, and safe environment for artists, attendees, volunteers, and staff alike. If somebody is acting like a fool, behaving aggressively, creeping people out, violating boundaries, or making others uncomfortable, they may be removed from the festival without refund.

Respect the artists.
Respect the staff.
Respect each other.

That shared sense of community is part of what makes this event work.

The best way to support Widow’s Harvest is to show up, spread the word, bring your friends, and help build the kind of atmosphere that keeps independent art and music communities alive.

Support the artists playing this festival year round. Follow them online. Buy records and merch. Go to shows. Tell people about the bands you discover here. Independent music survives because people care enough to participate in it beyond a single weekend.

Support the vendors.
Support the volunteers.
Support each other.

Most importantly, contribute positively to the atmosphere of the festival itself. Widow’s Harvest exists because people choose to help create something meaningful together rather than simply consume it.

This festival only works if people care enough to build it together.