Joliet’s Star Wars Day canceled again

Star Wars fans who missed the 2020 Star Wars Day event due to the pandemic will, unfortunately, miss it again this year.

On Monday, the Joliet Public Library announced the cancellation of the 2021 Star Wars Day due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the library’s construction plans.

“It was a hard decision but considering that 10,000 people or more come to this event, I just couldn’t risk it,” said Joliet Public Library Executive Director Megan Millen.

Moreover, the library begins construction this month on its Ottawa Street branch, where many of the programs for Star Wars Days are held, Millen said. By the time the event would roll around in June, half the space would be unavailable, forcing people even closer together, Millen added.

And it’s been a rough year for the library’s partners in this event, the Joliet Area Historical Museum and the Rialto Square Theatre, Millen said.

“It really was a hard decision, It’s our signature event,” Millen said. “We’ve even won national awards. It (the decision to cancel) wasn’t done lightly.”

Joliet Public Library staff started Star Wars Day in 2010. In addition to a parade of costumed characters, the event features related games and programs at the library, Rialto Square Theatre and Joliet Area Historical Museum, as well as food and merchandise vendors.

“It’s really something to see,” Millen said. “Every inch of this library is covered in people. Every inch of the downtown is covered in people. We have over 200 reenactors in really high-end expensive costumes … it’s a bummer this is not happening, but I can’t risk a super spreading event.”

Typically Star Wars Day takes a year of planning, which includes obtaining permission for the event from both Disney and Lucasfilm, Millen said. With all the uncertainty of the pandemic, Millen wasn’t sure the library could even have received those permissions, she said.

Plus library staff have to run the event while running the library, Millen said.

“I don’t think people realize all that goes into it,” she said.

Millen said the library plans to bring back the annual event just as soon as it’s safe to hold it.

In the meantime, the library will begin construction this month throughout the library, a project that will cost between $10.5 and $11 million. Millen said $6.3 million is coming from a grant from Illinois and the rest is coming from the library’s reserves.

“None of it is coming from taxpayers,” Millen said.

Included in the remodeling plan is moving youth services to the top floor and adding a custom-made play area. This will feature a couple of nods to downtown Joliet – a bridge the kids can cross and a puppet theater with a Rialto marquis, Millen said.

The basement will become a giant media studio with several sound booths, video equipment for making movies and equipment for 3D modeling, Millen said.

Millen said the plan is to keep the library open throughout construction. The library has offered virtual programming, pickup services and building hours throughout the pandemic.