Taste of Joliet will be back at the end of June with the same recipe for success –– local food, a variety of music acts and community support.
In its sixth year since its rebirth, this year’s Taste is shaping up to be better than the last, park officials said. The three day festival will be held June 24-26 at Joliet Memorial Stadium, 3000 W. Jefferson St.
Already, the festival has surpassed its goal for sponsorships. This year, the goal was to bring in $180,000 in sponsorships for the festival. Park officials have surpassed that and expect to end with $210,000 in sponsorships for the three-day festival. Two years ago, the festival netted $160,000 in sponsorships.
“It is truly a community event,” said Dominic Egizio, executive director of the Joliet Park District. “The community and the residents like to really come out for the Taste and the local businesses really support it.”
Taste of Joliet seemed to be done in 1995 when park officials decided not to host the event at Memorial Stadium anymore. But with residents continually asking for the event to be brought back, park officials revived the Taste of Joliet in 2005, Egizio said.
Although the park district strives to just break even –– or limit their losses –– on the festival, last year the district turned a profit of $30,000 –– a first for the festival, Egizio said. The festival last year drew 40,000 people over a three-day period.
“We’ve grown the festival every year and the community is a big reason why,” said Brad Staab, the park district’s superintendent of communications.
Festival fans will see a return of many favorites to the three-day event, including the Kid Zone complete with inflatables, roasted corn on the cob from the Joliet Fire Department and the carnival, which was first introduced to the festival last year. Festival goers also will get to enjoy local food from restaurants such as Taste of Polonia (Polish cuisine), Cemeno’s Pizza, Taqueria Atotonico (Mexican cuisine) and Judy’s Hot Dogs.
Mainstage music acts include Loverboy at 9 p.m. Friday, KC and the Sunshine Band at 9 p.m. Saturday and Kenny Rogers at 5 p.m. Sunday. Other groups include 7th Heaven, Time Machine, Skinny Williams and Petty Cash. Radio Disney will be back again this year with a musical act, but park officials aren’t releasing the name of the act until June 10.
The festival will be open from noon to midnight on Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to the festival is $10 for guests, ages 12 to 62. Tickets for residents 62 and over are $5. Free admission is available from 12 to 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Children under 12 years old are free with an adult.
Reserved seating tickets for Loverboy or K C and the Sunshine Band are $25. Reserved seating tickets to see Kenny Rogers are $30. A $60 three-day pass for all the concerts also is available. For a complete listing of food vendors and events or to purchase concert tickets online, go to www.tasteofjoliet.com.
