Joliet's New Orleans North Is Set, But Not For June

JOLIET, IL — The coronavirus pandemic wiped out last summer's annual New Orleans North festival in downtown Joliet, but the one-day street festival will happen in 2021, but not in June.

The annual Friday night June event is being moved to Sept. 11, which is a Saturday.

"With the pandemic, we wanted to play it safe and push it back a couple of months," Joliet Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Kelly Baltas told Joliet Patch's editor on Wednesday."Typically, New Orleans North will kick off our summer festival season. This year, we'll use it to close out summer, on Saturday, September 11."

Why will the event be moved from Friday to Saturday for this year?

"In June, kids are out of school," Baltas said. "In September, school is back in session and there's the (Friday night) football season and other school activities."

Baltas said the Joliet Chamber event will have about 10 food vendors, a beer tent, live entertainment and at least three Mardi Gras music acts, just like in years past. The Mardi Gras themed festival takes place on North Chicago Street. The street gets blocked off between intersections of Clinton and Jefferson Streets.

This will be the 10th year for Joliet's New Orleans North festival.

New Orleans North typically draws at least 9,000 people to Joliet's downtown. Attendees must be at least 21 years old to attend, Baltas said.

"It will still remain 21 and older," she said. "I don't know what to expect for this year. It's hard to say. We're just really excited to bring it back."

Harrah's Casino in downtown Joliet will be the presenting sponsor. Tickets for New Orleans North will go on sale in April.

"We will be very aware of the safety measures, and we'll be following the state's guidelines. We do want to make sure that our guests are safe when attending the festival," Baltas said.