ENJOY PEORIA'S 2019-2020 EXPERIENCE GUIDE For Everyone AMAZE AND AMUSE ARTISTIC ENERGY Attractions for the whole family Check out our thriving arts scene! Pg. 34 Pg. 24 OUTDOOR ADVENTURES FEED YOUR Explore our backyard Pg. 40 APPETITE One-of-a-kind dining Pg. 26 SEASONAL CELEBRATIONS THE BEST OF Find events & attractions BUYING Pg. 30 all year long! Pg. 42 EXPERIENCE PROGRESS AT THE CATERPILLAR VISITORS CENTER There is plenty for children and adults to see and do when visiting the Doug Oberhelman Caterpillar Visitors Center. Learn the history of Caterpillar, see projects our equipment helped complete throughout the world, watch a movie in the bed of a massive, two and a half story Cat® 797 Mining Truck, climb in to the cab of our machines and test your operator skills using our track-type tractor or excavator simulators. Visit our website and take a virtual tour today. 110 SW Washington Street | Peoria, IL Monday - Saturday | 10am - 5pm Last ticket entry at 3:30pm visitcaterpillar.com © 2019 Caterpillar All Rights Reserved CAT, CATERPILLAR, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Yellow” and the “Power Edge” trade dress, as well2 as corporate andEnjoyPeoria.com product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may EnjoyPeoria.com 1 not be used without permission. {CONTENTS} 4 TRAVEL & TRANSPORTATION PEORIA. ANYTIME. ANYWHERE. 6 PEORIA 10 EAST PEORIA 12 PEKIN 14 MORTON 16 WASHINGTON 18 PEORIA HEIGHTS {CONNECT} Photo credit @beardedowlbrewing 28 20 STARK/MARSHALL/WOODFORD COUNTIES QUENCH YOUR THIRST 22 FULTON/MASON COUNTIES 24 ATTRACTIONS 26 DINING 28 COFFEE, BEER & WINE 30 SHOPPING 32 THEATER & CONCERTS 36 34 34 ARTS GOLF & SPORTS ARTS IN THE AREA 36 GOLF & SPORTS 39 RUNNING EVENTS 40 OUTDOOR ADVENTURE 26 42 SEASONAL CELEBRATIONS EAT YOUR HEART OUT 44 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 58 ACCOMMODATIONS ENJOYPEORIA.COM Did You 70 VISITOR/PLANNING SERVICES is the best source for area attractions, accommodations, dining, Know? Photo credit @tfam_12 42 71 COMMUNITY/VISITOR INFORMATION SEASONS FOR ALL shopping and events! Whether you are new to the area or someone We have coupons on 72 TRAVELING WITH PETS looking for a new restaurant to try, it is your digital one-stop-shop our website for local for everything the Peoria Area has to offer! Stay in the loop with our dining, lodging, attractions newsletter and follow us on social media! and more! Mid-sized. BIG difference. Please share your travel experiences by including #enjoypeoria on social media. PEORIA AREA CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU facebook.com/enjoypeoria Include a visit to our campus when Twin Towers Plaza you visit Peoria. 456 Fulton Street, Suite 300 twitter.com/enjoypeoria Learn more at bradley.edu/visit, or call the Office of Undergraduate Peoria, IL 61602 Admission at (309) 677-1000 to schedule a tour. Phone: 309.676.0303 Toll Free: 800.747.0302 instagram.com/enjoypeoria Fax: 309.676.8470 Web: www.EnjoyPeoria.com youtube.com/user/PeoriaAreaCVB Email: [email protected] 100% Top-Ranked TOP 15 84- The Official Enjoy Peoria Experience Guide is produced and published by the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (“PACVB”). Reproduction 12:1 OF STUDENTS REGIONAL U.S. SCHOOLS ACRE without written permission is strictly prohibited. Every effort was made to ensure accuracy of the information in this guide as of press time. The PACVB GAIN UNIVERSITY IN FOR STUDENT STUDENT/ WALKABLE FACULTY RATIO assumes no responsibility for errors, changes or omissions. Listings and advertisements are provided and/or approved by the subject companies - the REAL-WORLD ILLINOIS ENGAGEMENT CAMPUS EXPERIENCE PACVB is not responsible or liable for any inaccuracy, omission or infringement of any third party’s rights therein, or any other damage whatsoever. US NEWS & WORLD REPORT WALL STREET JOURNAL 2 EnjoyPeoria.com EnjoyPeoria.com 3 TRAVEL & TRANSPORTATION PEORIA INTERNATIONAL Quad Cities, IA 1.5 hrs. AIRPORT {TRAVEL} Chicago, IL 2.5 hrs. 6100 W. Everett Dirksen Parkway St. Louis, MO 2.5 hrs. PIA Peoria, IL | www.flypia.com Indianapolis, IN 2.5 hrs. TIME Madison, WI 3.0 hrs. PEORIA AREA Milwaukee, WI 4.0 hrs. Des Moines, IA 4.5 hrs. Louisville, KY 5.5 hrs. Kansas City, MO 5.5 hrs. Detroit, MI 7.0 hrs. Nashville, TN 7.5 hrs. DRIVE GROUND TRANSPORTATION Peoria Charter Coach Affordable Limousine 309.688.9523 www.peoriachartertravel.com 309.740.9185 www.peoria-taxi.com/limo.php Peoria Yellow Checker Cab MAJOR AIRLINES. NONSTOP FLIGHTS. FREE PARKING. Big City Shuttles 309.676.0731 www.taxipeoria.com 309.303.8080 www.bigcityshuttles.com City Link Welcome to Peoria! 309.676.4040 TRAVEL SERVICES Don’t worry about navigating through traffic and www.ridecitylink.org unfamiliar roads. Let CityLink do the driving for you! Alexander Travel 309.693.3511 www.alexander-travel.com Other Ground Transportation: CityLink Big Daddy Cab Co. General Wayne A. Downing 309.853.7649 Peoria International Airport Cassano Limousine 309.697.8272 309.685.5488 Day Pass www.flypia.com City Wide Cab Co 309.453.7749 Other Travel Services: Elite Taxi Unlimited rides for one service day. 309.674.8294 AAA Peoria CityLink buses go to all Peoria 309.692.4728 Five Star Taxi & Livery, INC $ museums, attractions, shopping Cook Travel & Cruise 309.696.9596 centers, and restaurants! 309.699.0070 Peoria Limousine Discover Travel, LLC 309.674.0945 3 309.647.2247 Passes available for purchase Tri County Cab Suzi Davis Travel 309.497.1111 on any CityLink bus or at the 309.682.3000 CityLink Transit Center: Uber Togoaway Travel Network Whether you're headed to work, the airport or 407 SW Adams St. 309.266.8383 need a ride home from a night out on the town, Peoria, IL 61603 Uber connects you with a reliable ride in minutes. Download the app to catch a ride! (309) 676-4040 • www.ridecitylink.org 4 EnjoyPeoria.com EnjoyPeoria.com 5 PEORIA {EXPLORE} Learn about Caterpillar's construction history, from the Panama Canal to the A premier sports facility in the Midwest, the Louisville San Francisco cable car system, at the Slugger Sports Complex caters a year-round Doug Oberhelman Caterpillar event center for a wide variety of sports. With a Visitors Center. Eight exhibit galleries, 125,000 square foot dome,10 impressive synthetic hands-on equipment simulator, and over turf fields and state of the art amenities, it's no 50 videos and 800 photographs will surprise that the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex awaken your curiosity. Climb aboard a is quickly becoming nationally known for hosting top motor grader or excavator, design your notch sporting events year-round. own CAT machine or hop into a simulation to learn what it feels (See pg. 36 for more sports) like to operate big equipment. No matter the activity, put yourself in the driver's seat at the Caterpillar Visitors Center. (See pg. 24 for more attractions) For delicious food and fun, visit Alexander's Steakhouse to enjoy twelve Photo credit @missyscherber different hand-cut steaks. Have a taste for something other than beef? You're in luck, Alexander's also offers other fresh meats, Head to the Peoria Riverfront Museum to explore cooked to perfection. Not to mention a fresh permanent collections, rotating exhibitions and special salad bar, notorious for the title of "Best Salad programs that connect art and science with Bar in Town". history and human achievement. Visit (See pg. 26 for more restaurants) the magnificent Dome Planetarium to transport yourself on a real-time trip Did You to a far off galaxy, or see the stars Know? just above your head. The giant At Alexander's you screen theater houses a 52-by- have the opportunity 70-foot screen that can show to cook your own steak over a live, you the world in a BIG way! Be charcoal grill! sure to check out their website for programming schedules. (See pg. 24 for more attractions) 6 EnjoyPeoria.com EnjoyPeoria.com 7 PEORIA Photo credit @kateykraemer14 Founded in 1897 by Lydia Moss Bradley, {EXPLORE} Bradley University maintains a strong presence in the Peoria area. The residential campus houses 5,400 students from across the globe, providing a small school personality with the opportunities and resources of a larger university. Spread over 85 acres, Bradley University commits to providing students with the tools to become successful leaders, innovators and contributors of the future. Bradley Univeristy introduced its latest mascot, KABOOM!, in 2014. The mascot's name originated with Hall of Fame Voice of the Braves Dave Snell, Photo credit @nicoleliveshappy who has used the term to energetically describe slam dunks during Bradley men’s basketball games since the late 1970s. Photo credits: 1. @biercat | 2. @jim_walker_photography | 3. @spiritofpeoria | 4. @fer_nahndo | 5. @raphaelrodolfi Photo credits: 6. @appreciatepeoria | 7. @appreciatepeoria | 8. @four30scones | 9. @bhenry84 | 10. @zioncoffeeco | 11. @talkingbouquet Share your visit with us using... 6. 7. 3. 1. 2. 11. 5. 10. 8. 8 EnjoyPeoria.com 4. EnjoyPeoria.com 9 9. EAST PEORIA {EXPLORE} Enclosed within six acres of park area, Fon Du Lac Farm Park offers a blast from the past Whether with a 1920's farm you're a life setting. Bring serious player or your kids and enjoy spending the day just looking for a unique participating in hands-on activities, from and fun casino experience, Par-A-Dice has what live farm animal interactions to a country you're looking for. Conveniently located off I-74 in East kitchen museum and park! Peoria, the casino offers more than 900 slots and 30 (See pg. 24 for more attractions) table games including Live Poker. Enjoy a great dining experience from fine dining to a traditional buffet at one of their four restaurants. Par-A-Dice Hotel was voted one of the Midwest's finest casino hotels, and is just steps away from exciting casino action.