Community Corner
No Summer Picnics At Joliet's St. Joe's Park
Carmelite priest Father Tim Andres says that the health of people who attend and volunteer at St. Joe's Park is paramount.
JOLIET, IL — In recent weeks, Joliet area residents learned about the cancelationof the Taste of Joliet and the Chicagoland Speedway's NASCAR Weekend was being moved out of Joliet. Now, the latest community event to be canceled because of the new coronavirus is the annual St. Joe's Park summer picnics.
The weekend picnics typically take place all summer and draw thousands of people to the park. In recent days, Father Tim Andres of St. Joe's Catholic Church announced on Facebook that all the summer picnics are being canceled for 2020 because of concerns about the new coronavirus.
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"It is with great disappointment and much sadness that I officially announce the cancellation of all activities at St. Joseph Park for the 2020 season," the Joliet priest posted on Facebook. "I have been following the news, like all of you, hoping that this health crisis would have subsided by now, but that has not come to fruition.
"I have also spoken to city and diocesan leaders, our insurance carrier, and medical and infectious disease experts who recommend not going forward with our picnic season, especially since it would be almost impossible to enforce the requirements of social distancing and the need to wear a face covering in public," the Joliet priest wrote.
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