New Orleans North: A ‘Big Easy’ night of fun, food and music
Chicago Street from Jefferson to Clinton streets became Joliet's own "Big Easy" as the Chamber of Commerce launched its first "New orleans North" gala of fun, food and music on Friday June 8.
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If you’ve always loved the “Big Easy” you may have believed you were actually there on June 8, when the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry turned Joliet into “New Orleans North.”
The Chamber hosted its first New Orleans North festival, closing Chicago Street from Jefferson to Clinton from 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and turning the street into the tastes, sights and sounds of New Orleans. Local food vendors brought such culinary delights as crawfish, gumbo, dirty rice and more. For those faint of heart and not into Cajun food, there were also sandwiches and sausage!
Two bands provided blues and other sounds of New Orleans. Performing first was Chicago Blues Angels, followed by the band T-Bird Huck that had the street rocking into the night.
This adults-only event included a beer garden where you could kick back and enjoy the music, fun,and camaraderie.
“We wanted a fun night, from the time you entered ‘New Orleans’ and received your beads until you left,” said Mary Jaworski, vice president of the Chamber. “We had a great evening of entertainment and great food!”
A portion of the proceeds were donated to the United Way.
Corporate sponsor of the event was D’Arcy Automobile dealership. Co-chairpersons for the event were Jeff Thompson of Northern Insurance and Tom Grotovsky of R. Berti Building Solutions.
For pictures and video, visit www.jolietchamber.com and/or www.facebook.com/jolietchamber. The Chamber can be reached at (815) 727-5371.
The Chamber would like to thank all of the New Orleans North event sponsors for their support:
-- Grand Presenting Sponsor: D’Arcy Automobiles
-- Entertainment Sponsor: Bill Jacobs Cadillac & Chevrolet
-- Tent Sponsors: BMO Harris, First Community Bank, and Midland States Bank
-- Bourbon Street Sponsors: Elliott Electric, Siegel’s Cottonwood Farms, and Turk Furniture
-- Zydeco Sponsors: NextMedia and Silver Cross Hospital
-- Cajun Sponsors: Adler Roofing, Heritage Corridor Vistors Bureau, Provena St. Joseph Hospital, Rathbun, Cservenyak & Kozol, and Window World
-- Crawfish Sponsors: Heartland Bank & Trust, Herald News, Hometown National Bank, Joliet Firefighters 44 & 2369, Kavanagh, Grumly & Gorbald LLC, Latin Pavers, Midwest Generation, Northern Insurance, NuMark Credit Union, Old Second Bank, Packard Transport, Rialto Square Theatre, and Will County OB/GYN
-- Production Sponsor: Richards Music & Electronics
