Ticket to Oak Fest: 5K Has Runners Lacing Up

The Main Event: 5K Liberty Run

When: Registration is from 5:30 p.m to 6:45 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m., until midnight; run starts at fest entrance at 7 p.m.

Price: $30 to sign up for the run, including free goody bag. Admission to Oak Fest is free. 

Where: Run starts at the northeast corner of 159th Street and Central Avenue, finishing at the fest entrance. Post-race party in the main tent.

Discount: It’s buddy night folks, so buddy up after you buy your ticket and your friend's ride is free!

Gimme 5K

Runners take your mark, the 5K Liberty Run takes place at the , tonight.

From 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., runners can fill out their applications and waivers at the registration tent at Oak Fest. After submitting the necessary paperwork, runners can then take to the starting line at the Northeast corner of 159th Street and Central Avenue.

The certified 5K course is "flat to slightly hilly," according to the fest website. Each year an average of 150-170 runners and walkers come out for the evening event which starts the Friday festivities during the Oak Fest. 

Deborah Houtz, organizer of the event, said she hopes the will not scare participants away from the race. 

“Hopefully it will be cooler when the race begins since it starts at 7 p.m.,” Houtz said. “We’ve always started this race in the evening because we needed to have it on a Friday since there’s so much going on during the rest of the weekend and we don’t want people to have to take off work.”

Oak Fest organizers will hold a post-race party, with raffle prizes and food, in the main tent to announce the winners. The top three male and female winners will receive gift cards.

All proceeds from the event will go toward local Oak Forest non-for-profit organizations.

Wrestlemania

Back by popular demand, PCW wrestlers will grab their audience by the figurative head and put them in an entertainment chokehold, tonight.

The fun—perfect with a slab of ribs—begins at 6 p.m., and goes until 8 p.m.

Fest Cover Bands

Livin’ It Up is striving to be one the best “rock-and-roll cover bands in the [Chicago] area,” playing hits from the '50s, '60s and on. You can catch them in the main tent from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

How about a classic rock band that cranks out the tunes of Boston, Tom Petty and Santana, as well as original songs? That's a tall order, but with 5 Guys Named Moe, you might be surprised. They’ll hit the main tent from 9 p.m. to midnight.

Check out the Carnival

When's the last time you tossed a ping-pong ball into a goldfish bowl, or rode the carousel? If it's been a while, you can enjoy them until your heart's content tonight, from 6 p.m. to midnight. For $25, you can purchase the wristband special, which allows access to every ride from open to close. And for tonight only, you can find a $5-off coupon for wristbands on the fest's website.

Bingo!

From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., you can try your luck at the bingo table. Bingo cards are only 50 cents a piece or three for $1. There's no limit to the number of cards you can play at one time, but you must be 18 with a valid drivers license or state ID to play.

Oak Fest, which will be held at 159th Street and Central Avenue, runs until Monday, July 4. Mega passes are on sale for $75 for carnival rides. The passes are good for all six days, and are available at city hall. Tickets for individual days are $25. Bring a buddy on Friday, and your second ticket is free. Saturday, from 11 a.m. to noon is for children with special needs only.

Check back with Oak Forest Patch, where we'll feature the events you can't miss (though the whole fest sounds amazing) each morning of Oak Fest.

Colleen Sheehan contributed to this report.