10 Surprisingly Luxurious Tents at the Chicago Gourmet Food Festival

Chicago Gourmet, a prestigious food festival put on by the Illinois Restaurant Association and presented by title sponsor Bon Appétit, took over Chicago's Millennium Park September 29 and 30. Southern Wine and Spirits of Illinois was the presenting sponsor. With celebrity chef demonstrations, food tastings, educational seminars, and book signings, the event also offered copious samples of wines and spirits. 

For the first time this year, Event Creative was tasked with building out the tents that housed tasting bars for brands such as Blue Moon, Skinny Girl, and Knob Creek. Each brand had a lush, atmospheric tent that went well beyond the simple bar-with-samples setup seen at more causal food festivals.

"I worked directly with the Illinois Restaurant Association on the design of the common spaces," including the tent that housed the Hamburger Hop kick-off party on September 28 and the lawn furniture that provide seating areas throughout the festival, said Event Creative senior account executive Kelly Wagner. "As for the decor for the vendor tents, I worked directly with some 20 brands to bring their visions to life. It was quite the undertaking, designing and executing the number of tents that Event Creative handled, and the final result was such a sight to see." Here's a look inside 10 of those luxuriously appointed vendor tents.