Smaller Taste Of Joliet Fest Set For Next Weekend

JOLIET, IL — You won't see Vince Neil of Motley Crue or Bret Michaels of Poison, but next weekend's End of Summer Fest will feature live music acts who have performed on stage at the Taste of Joliet in years past.

The Aug. 20-22 End of Summer Fest at Joliet's Memorial Stadium will feature live music, food trucks, a beer tent and a large carnival put on by St. Charles' Windy City Amusements, Inc.

Friday's fest will begin at 4 p.m. and end at 10:30 p.m.

The music entertainment will only take place on Friday, Aug 20.

The 4 p.m. music act will be New Orleans Beau. The 6 p.m. performer is 7th Heaven and ARRA will take the stage at 8 p.m. Admission for the Friday fest will be $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, and kids 12 and younger are free.

"ARRA is one of the best and largest drawing classic rock cover bands in the Chicagoland area, and has been for the past 2 decades! We were also voted BEST CLASSIC ROCK BAND in the Nitelife Best of the Burbs Contest for the 5th year in a row!" the band's website proclaims.

The Aug. 21 and Aug. 22 events are strictly for the carnival.

Saturday's carnival will take place from 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday's carnival is from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Admission to the carnival that Saturday and Sunday is $5 for adults. Senior citizens and 12 and younger are free.

"The admission is cheaper than the Taste of Joliet, which is $16 general admission," Joliet Park District Executive Director Brad Staab told Patch on Friday. "The End of Summer Fest will just be on a smaller scale. The carnival will be in the same place and Saturday and Sunday is just the carnival."

As of Aug. 13, Staab said he had "seven confirmed" food trucks for next weekend's event.

Staab said the food vendors will include Cemeno's Pizza, the Joliet Fire Department's corn tent, TCBY and Flourish Juice Co. Auntie Anne's Food Truck said it will be there as well.

D'Arcy Buick GMC and Miller Lite are two of the main sponsors for the Joliet Park District's End of Summer Fest.

In years past, the Taste of Joliet typically draws about 57,000 people over the three-day period. It's usually held on the third weekend in June. The Taste of Joliet did not take place in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus.

When asked what kind of crowd will show up next weekend, Staab smiled.

He said he has no idea what to expect. Last weekend's Crossroads Festival in nearby Shorewood attracted several thousand people.

"I don't know what to anticipate," Staab told Joliet Patch. "I'm just excited to have a small event for the community. These music acts have all played at the Taste before, so anyone who's been to the Taste has seen these bands before."