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Tickets
Tickets are now on sale to all! Buy IllumiBrew tickets online.
Buy IllumiBrew member tickets online.
Event Ticket
Cost: $95
Member cost: $85
Designated Driver Ticket
Cost: $50
Member cost: $45
Each IllumiBrew ticket includes entrance to Illumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum,18 three-ounce tastings, and a green light-up tasting glass. Samples of beverages with a higher ABV, such as meads, may be less than three ounces.
Ticket purchasers must be 21 or older and present a valid ID at check-in.
No infants or children, including those in strollers, will be permitted.
Designated Driver Tickets
Designated Driver tickets include entrance to Illumination: Tree Lights at The Morton Arboretum, unlimited hot cocoa or hot cider, and the option to redeem one can of nonalcoholic beer from Go Brewing. Designated drivers must be 21 or older.
Vendors and Map
A map will be available closer to the event date.
Participating Vendors
Please note that vendors may change and featured brews may be added up until the date of the event.
93 Octane Brewing (Elmhurst, IL)
Panhead Pilsner (pilsner)
Turbo Coffee Porter (porter with craft-brewed coffee)
Alter Brewing Company (Downers Grove, Oak Brook, and St. Charles, IL)
Alterado (Mexican lager)
S’Mores Wedda (oatmeal stout)
Avery Brewing Co. (Boulder, CO)
Cold Front (golden bock winter lager)
Black Horizon Brewing Company (Willowbrook, IL)
Jester’s Cap (brown ale with maple and vanilla)
Surf King (West Coast IPA)
Blind Corner Brewery (Naperville, IL)
Booter (hazy IPA)
John, Frank, Andy (Scotch ale)
Brother Chimp Brewing (North Aurora, IL)
BubbleHouse Brewing (Lisle, IL)
Cran Box (kettle sour with cranberry)
BuckleDown Brewing (Lyons, IL)
Crackle & Pop Winter Ale (brown ale with cacao nibs, vanilla, cinnamon, and coffee)
Belt (IPA)
Casa Humilde Cerveceria (Chicago, IL)
Cafecito (coffee porter)
Marina (American light lager)
Church Street Brewing Company (Itasca, IL)
Heavenly Helles (Helles lager)
Spring Brook Bock (dark lager)
Crystal Lake Brewing (Crystal Lake, IL)
Hop Comet (American pale ale)
To All a Good Night (ale with ginger, cinnamon, and brown sugar)
Emancipation Brewing Co. (Fairbury, IL)
Illumination (New England IPA)
Parlor Pils (traditional German-style pilsner)
ERIS Brewery and Ciderhouse (Chicago, IL)
E-Phoria (hard cider with Gala apples and vanilla)
Pepper Jam (hard cider with sweet peach and chile de árbol)
Foreign Exchange Brewing Co. (Aurora, IL)
Back to the Start (cognac barrel-aged imperial brown ale)
Playing for Keeps (wheat beer with passionfruit, orange, and guava)
Founder’s Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, MI)
Canadian Breakfast Stout (bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with chocolate and coffee)
On Cloud Lime (lager with lime)
Foxes Den Meadery (Yorkville, IL)
Apple Spice: SESH (apple-infused session mead with spices)
Chocolate Covered Raspberry: SESH (raspberry-infused session mead with dark chocolate and vanilla)
Go Brewing (Naperville, IL)
Sunbeam Pilsner (nonalcoholic pilsner)
Goldfinger Brewing Company (Downers Grove, IL)
Original Lager (Helles lager)
Homewood Brewing Co. (Homewood, IL)
Mangolorian (mango witbier)
Ike & Oak Brewing Co. (Woodridge, IL)
Illuminated Brew Works (Chicago, IL)
Orange Sunshine (saison with orange and lemon zest)
War on Xmas (imperial stout with vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg)
Lake Effect Brewing Company (Chicago, IL)
Avond’ale (pale ale brewed with local hops)
Lake Effect Snow (witbier)
Lexington Brewing & Distilling (Lexington, KY)
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (bourbon barrel-aged Irish red ale)
Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale (bourbon barrel-aged cream ale)
Liquid Love Brewing (Wheeling, IL)
Damascus (bourbon and oak barrel-aged imperial stout)
Make Di (wheat ale)
Maplewood Brewery & Distillery (Chicago and Glen Ellyn, IL)
Fat Pug Oatmeal Milk Stout (milk stout)
Krispie Cakes Pastry Case Ale (golden ale)
Misbeehavin’ Meads (Valparaiso, IN)
Caramel Apple (barrel-aged hard cider with caramel and spices)
MORE Brewing Company (Bartlett, Huntley, and Villa Park, IL)
New Holland Brewing (Holland, MI)
Dragon’s Milk Reserve: Oatmeal Cookie (bourbon barrel-aged stout with oats, raisins, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla)
Ichabod (pumpkin ale)
Noon Whistle Brewing (Lombard and Naperville, IL)
Gummysaurus (hazy IPA)
Obscurity Brewing and Craft Mead (Elburn, IL)
Good Kiss (IPA)
Penrose Brewing (Geneva, IL)
Apple Cider Donut Seltz-Up (hard seltzer with apple, cinnamon, and vanilla)
Snow Boots (hazy winter IPA)
Phase Three Brewing Company (Elmhurst and Lake Zurich, IL)
P3 Stout (oatmeal stout)
Swells (West Coast IPA)
Pipeworks Brewing Co. (Chicago, IL)
Abominable Snowman Vs. Unicorn (hazy IPA)
Rudolph Vs. Unicorn (imperial stout with cacao nibs, vanilla, lactose, and peppermint)
Pollyanna Brewing & Distilling Company (Lemont, Roselle, and St. Charles, IL)
Prima Cider (Long Grove, IL)
Prima Most (German farmhouse-style hard cider)
Prima Verboten (cask- and bottle-conditioned unfiltered hard cider)
Riggs Beer Company (Urbana, IL)
Hefeweizen (wheat beer)
Schwarzbier (dark lager)
Scorched Earth Brewing Company (Algonquin, IL)
Solemn Oath Brewery (Naperville, IL)
Cold Black Night (black Kölsch)
Snaggletooth Bandana (IPA)
Standard Meadery (Villa Park, IL)
Unpossible Mead (Dwight, IL)
Strawbeary Cheesecake (strawberry melomel)
Tart Cherry Sesh (session mead with vanilla)
Wolfden Brewing Company (Bloomingdale, IL)
Mighty Fang (Scotch ale)
Out of the Fog (unhazed IPA)
Food Options
Food and beverages will be available to purchase from a concession tent along the Illumination trail until 9:30 p.m.
Indoor dining and to-go orders will be available from the Ginkgo Restaurant until 8:00 p.m.
Accessibility
The Illumination trail is a one-mile paved path that is ADA-compliant for those with limited mobility. The exhibition is not accessible by car.
The Arboretum has a small number of nonmotorized wheelchairs available for loan free of charge in the Visitor Center on a first-come, first-serve basis. Guests must leave a driver’s license or other photo ID to check out a wheelchair. Because the supply is limited, we recommend bringing a personal wheelchair to the Arboretum if one is needed. Personal mobility scooters may also be used on the trail.
Arboretum staff make their best efforts to clear the path of ice and snow.
Sensory Needs
Please be aware that Illumination features moving and flashing lights along the trail. There are no strobe lights in the exhibition. Laser features are directed away from guests and follow International Laser Display Association safety standards.
Guests may borrow sensory supports such as headphones, sunglasses, fidgets, or a copy of the Illumination social story (English, Spanish) when they arrive at the Sycamore Room. Guests can use the social story to help prepare for their visit. Any loaned items should be returned to the Information Desk in the Visitor Center before departure.
Service Animals
The Morton Arboretum welcomes visitors with task-trained service animals to Illumination. Please note that pets are not permitted at Illumination except on specially designated Illumination Dog Admission Nights, December 3, 10, and 17.
Parking
Parking is available near the entrance for those with a disability placard on their vehicle; please notify the parking attendant as you drive in. Otherwise, parking is first come, first serve, and is directed by parking attendants.
Guests directed to a secondary lot (parking lot P-21) near the Thornhill Education Center on the Arboretum’s West Side can take advantage of a shuttle bus that will transport them to the main event area. Please note that this is the only shuttle bus during Illumination and it only runs between parking lot P-21 and the Visitor Center. The bus does not have a wheelchair lift.
If you do not have a disability placard and someone in your party has mobility concerns, you are also welcome to drop off passengers in the circle drive adjacent to the Visitor Center before you park. Please notify the parking attendants and they will direct you accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Accordion List
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Food and beverages will be available to purchase along the Illumination trail until 9:30 p.m.
Indoor dining and to-go orders will be available from the Ginkgo Restaurant until 8:00 p.m.
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Yes, designated driver tickets are available for this event. This ticket type includes IllumiBrew admission and a hot chocolate or cider. Designated drivers must be 21 or older.
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No, additional samples will not be available for purchase. Each ticket purchase includes 18 three-ounce samples; samples of beverages with a higher ABV, such as meads, may be less than three ounces.
