VIA ENJOY

What VIA ENJOY does

Enjoy Highland Park (operated as 'VIA ENJOY' in the dataset, though substantively referencing the Enjoy Highland Park initiative) is the official tourism and marketing website of the City of Highland Park, Illinois, serving local residents, day-trippers from Chicago and surrounding suburbs, and visitors. The platform aggregates and promotes dining, shopping, arts and culture, and special events across nine distinct business districts, including Downtown Highland Park (Central Business District) and the Ravinia District. Core sub-products include the Ravinia Farmers Market (entering its 48th season with 35+ vendors), the Bitter Jester Music Festival (Midwest's largest emerging artist showcase, Best Small Music Festival 2025), Ravinia Festival coverage (85+ concert offerings in 2026), and the Women-Owned Business Trolley Tour. The platform highlights 75+ restaurants spanning over a dozen cuisines and 140+ women-owned businesses.

The platform is built on the Squarespace content management system and distributes content through the website, The Weekender weekly newsletter (via Constant Contact), and signature events. Three named city staff members operate the initiative: Communications Manager Amanda Bennett, Marketing Coordinator Diane Larson, and Business Development Specialist Corey Cohn, with Ed Kugler serving as Market Manager for the Ravinia Farmers Market. Strategic partnerships include Ravinia Festival, Amdur Productions, Bensidoun USA, Visit Lake County, Ravinia District Special Service Area 17, the Bitter Jester Foundation, and Dayhouse Coworking.

The business model is municipal government funding rather than commercial revenue generation. The City of Highland Park funds the initiative as a public tourism promotion service; there is no pricing for the platform, no transactional revenue, and no venture capital or private equity backing. The go-to-market motion is event-driven — the organization drives foot traffic to local businesses through signature programming (Food Truck Thursdays, Farmers Market, Port Clinton Art Festival, Taste of Highland Park, Vintage Car Show, Oktoberfest, Stews & Brews, Holiday Lighting, Downtown Concerts at Port Clinton, and America250). Awards include the Festy Awards' Best Small Music Festival 2025 and Gordon Salon's 23-consecutive-year Top 200 Salon recognition from Salon Today Magazine.

Name

VIA ENJOY

Legal name

City of Highland Park, Illinois

Website

https://enjoyhighlandpark.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Enjoy Highland Park is the official tourism and marketing initiative of the City of Highland Park, Illinois, promoting local restaurants, shops, arts, and signature events across nine business districts to residents, day-trippers, and visitors from Chicago and surrounding suburbs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Highland Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Tourism Promotion: Funded by the City of Highland Park, Illinois as an official city initiative to promote local businesses, tourism, and community events. No direct revenue generation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Enjoy Highland Park is a municipal tourism and marketing platform operated by the City of Highland Park, Illinois. It publishes a destination website, event calendars, dining and shopping guides, and a weekly email newsletter to promote local businesses, restaurants, arts venues, and signature community events across nine business districts. The platform has no direct revenue generation and is funded by city government resources as a free public service.

Product overview

Enjoy Highland Park is a unified tourism and marketing platform operated by the City of Highland Park, Illinois. The platform serves as the central hub for promoting local businesses, dining establishments, shopping destinations, arts and culture venues, and special events across nine distinctive business districts. Built on the Squarespace content management system, the platform aggregates business directories, event calendars, seasonal guides, and promotional content for both residents and visitors. Key sub-products include the Ravinia Farmers Market (48th season), Bitter Jester Music Festival (annual battle of the bands), Ravinia Festival coverage, and the Women-Owned Business Trolley Tour. Content distribution is facilitated through The Weekender weekly newsletter via Constant Contact. The platform also highlights the annual Ravinia Farmers Market, special events like Food Truck Thursdays, and supports local business promotion through various digital guides.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Enjoy Highland Park Website Official tourism and marketing website for the City of Highland Park, IL, providing comprehensive information about local dining, shopping, arts and culture, special events, and business districts across nine distinct areas including Downtown Highland Park and the Ravinia District.
• The Weekender Newsletter Weekly electronic newsletter delivered via Constant Contact featuring special events, shopping guides, restaurant specials, and local business promotions for Highland Park residents and visitors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 48th season of Ravinia Farmers Market with 35+ vendors
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Ravinia FestivalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorth America's oldest outdoor music festival and Highland Park's premier entertainment destination. The partnership promotes Ravinia as a major attraction driving visitors to Highland Park's restaurants and businesses. The 2026 season features over 85 diverse concert offerings including classical music and contemporary artists.
• Visit Lake CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional tourism organization that partnered with Enjoy Highland Park for the annual February Flavor Festival, promoting Highland Park restaurants to Lake County visitors.
• Bensidoun USAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOperates Food Truck Thursdays in the Ravinia District in cooperation with the City of Highland Park and Ravinia District Special Service Area 17. Manages vendor recruitment and event operations.
• Ravinia District Special Service Area 17coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProperty owners' organization that sponsors Food Truck Thursdays and district improvements. Collaborates with Enjoy Highland Park on event programming and district promotion.
• Amdur ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduces the Port Clinton Art Festival in Downtown Highland Park, one of the area's signature art events attracting visitors to the business district.
• Bitter Jester FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit organization producing the Bitter Jester Music Festival, which partners with local restaurants and venues for preliminary concerts and the Grand Finale event.
• Dayhouse CoworkingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHost venue for the Women-Owned Business Trolley Tour after-party, providing space for prize giveaways and community networking.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Visit Orlando: Regional tourism promotion DMO that markets a destination's dining, attractions, and events through digital channels and signature event programming. Much larger but structurally analogous.
• NYC & Company: Official destination marketing organization for New York City. Performs the same municipal tourism-promotion function as Enjoy Highland Park but at vastly larger scale and budget.

Direct peers

• Choose Chicago: Official destination marketing organization for the City of Chicago. Comparable in function (municipal tourism promotion, event marketing, restaurant and shopping guides) but operates at much larger scale in the same metropolitan area.
• Destination Cleveland: Non-profit destination marketing and convention organization for Cleveland that drives visitor traffic through event promotion, business directories, and content marketing. Comparable DMO model targeting local dining, arts, and culture.
• Visit Milwaukee: Regional tourism marketing organization for the Milwaukee area promoting local events, restaurants, and attractions via website and content marketing. Comparable Midwest city-level DMO with similar event-driven GTM.
• Travel Portland: Destination marketing organization that promotes Portland's restaurants, events, and neighborhoods via website content and signature event programming. Comparable mid-sized city-level DMO model.
• Visit Detroit: City-level destination marketing organization that promotes Detroit's dining, events, arts and culture through a website, newsletter, and signature event programming. Functionally analogous as a municipal DMO with similar GTM motion.
• Visit Lake County: Regional destination marketing organization for Lake County, Illinois, and an existing Enjoy Highland Park partner. Comparable as a county-level DMO promoting local dining, events, and tourism within the same geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VIA ENJOY