Overview Lincoln Square Ravenswood Apple Fest turns Lincoln Avenue between Lawrence and Sunnyside into a fall market for Midwest growers, with Michigan and Indiana orchards selling apples and cider beside apple pie, apple-and-bacon pizza and hard cider from local restaurants and brewers. The 2026 edition was the 39th, and that year it added a Friday-evening opening ahead of the usual Saturday and Sunday. The Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce presents it and Big Buzz Idea Group produces it. Entry is a suggested donation, and the money goes to beautification projects in the neighborhood and to local nonprofits. The Chamber, founded in 1948, is a nonprofit of about 250 local businesses. On site Three stages spread along the avenue. The Apple Core Stage in Leland Plaza, at the Western CTA station, runs bands all three days; the Apple Jams DJ booth sits at Lincoln and Lawrence; and the Seedling Stage in the Lincoln and Sunnyside lot carries the Kids Zone's family performances. The 2026 bill ran from Los Perros Cubanos and the psychedelic cumbia of Chicha Roots to The Flat Cats and Jonas Friddle. Mick Klug Farms of St. Joseph, Michigan, and Phil Foster Fruit Farm of Huntington, Indiana, bring apples and cider, J2K Capraio brings farmstead cheese, Affy Tapple hand-dips apples, and more than 80 makers sell jewelry, ceramics, candles and prints. It runs rain or shine. Audience This is a neighborhood crowd: 79% of attendees live on Chicago's North Side, most within two miles of Lincoln Square. It is dog-friendly, with a Pooch Play Zone on the 4500 block and a Saturday-morning Pooch Costume Contest that reached its 15th year in 2026, and families spend the day between the Kids Zone and the Seedling Stage. Parking is limited to metered spots and a couple of lots, so the festival points people to transit and ride-share. Brand presence About 15 local businesses and organizations take promotional booths with activities, giveaways and services, set in among the farm, food and craft vendors on the avenue. The Chamber promotes the festival with door-to-door mailers to more than 15,000 households, and through its own email newsletter.