Great Joliet Prison Break-In Tickets Now On Sale

JOLIET, IL - It's been quite a summer around Joliet. To recap, thousands attended Star Wars Day, New Orleans North, Rock The Block and Taste of Joliet. This weekend marks the return of NASCAR to Joliet's Chicagoland Speedway. Now, you can add a new event to the calendar, The Great Joliet Prison Break-In.

It's an event like no other, but one you will need a ticket. And here's the big news: tickets just went on sale this week. However, only a limited number, 3,000, will be sold. The Great Joliet Prison Break-In is from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25. Admission tickets, including fees, are $40 each. Food and drink will be available for purchase.

“The Great Prison Break-In” will be an evening of the best music, food and beverages our area has to offer, all in the prison yard of this historic site. The Blooze Brothers, M&R Rush and Petty Cash are ready to rock the joint, with proceeds from the event will benefit the Joliet Area Historical Museum’s continued work to stabilize the Prison in order to make it accessible for public tours and educational programs," the marketing material reads.

The highly anticipated event will take place behind the limestone walls at the world-famous Old Joliet Prison. The property has been springing back to life over the past several months, thanks to efforts by the city of Joliet, Joliet Area Historical Museum, the Joliet Chamber of Commerce and several others.

The Joliet Chamber decided to limit the attendance to 3,000 people. That means if you wait until mid-August to think about buying tickets, you may be too late.

"When they're gone, they're gone," Joliet Chamber President Mary Jaworski told Joliet Patch during an interview this week at her office.

"We're off to a really good start. All proceeds, 100 percent, is going back to the prison restoration. It's a fund-raising event."

Jeff Thompson, owner of Northern Insurance, is coordinating The Great Joliet Prison Break-In food lineup. Thompson has been involved in organizing Naperville's highly successful Ribfest for many years.

More than a half dozen food vendors will be on hand for the Aug. 25 festival, he said.

"We'll have good Mexican, good Italian and fried chicken," Thompson told Patch. At least of couple of vendors will serve desserts, he added.

Equally important, there will be high quality live music playing all evening, Thompson stressed.

The Blues Brothers tribute band may be worth the price of admission alone. It will feature a Blues Brothers Mobile as well as an appearance from one of the nuns, organizers say.

"We are still working on bringing in some celebrities," Jaworski told Joliet Patch this week. "We would love to get, of course, Dan Aykroyd. We're still hoping to. We're still working on that."

And just like with Downtown Joliet's New Orleans North festival, the prison committee plans to feature a specialty drink such as orange whip or Joliet Juice.

The festival will take place in the massive prison yard at the old Joliet Prison.

Jaworski emphasized that people who purchase tickets will not be allowed to wander off into the prison buildings for sight-seeing tours.

"Security is very important for this event," she said. "We can't give tours that night. Forty dollars gets you into the prison. It's a festival, but we're still trying to get the solitary confinement building secured for sight-seeing for the event, but we have not been given the go ahead as of yet."

The Chamber hopes the event will draw plenty of people from Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. Bottom line: you don't need to live in Joliet to attend.

Said Thompson, "This is kind of an Illinois big deal. This needs to be an annual event."

Added Jaworski. "It's very exciting. It's going to be a fun night for Joliet."

People must be 21 years old to attend.

All of the money, 100 percent, will go toward pay upkeep and building restoration around the Joliet Prison where there are roughly two dozen buildings behind the limestone walls, built during the 1800s.

Here is the online link to buy your tickets for The Great Joliet Prison Break-In.

Images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor