Panic at the Plaza comes to downtown Joliet

A Halloween house party has grown into a downtown event for the Johnsons, the vendors who join them and the people who attend Panic at the Plaza.

Panic at the Plaza marked its fifth year Saturday in downtown Joliet.

“Every year it’s getting bigger and bigger,” said Phil Johnson, who with his wife, Tiffany, runs Audiophil’s Records downtown. “Our goal is to always have it be free and to always have local vendors and local artists. Even the food vendors are local.”

He said it was a very locally oriented event but with a Halloween theme.

Johnson said his Panic at the Plaza kicks off a number of Halloween-oriented events downtown that will be followed next weekend with the Stone & Steel 5K, which starts at 5 a.m. Sunday outside the Rialto Square Theatre and continues along the Joliet Iron Works Trail.

Panic at the Plaza was held in the Chicago Street parking lot across from the Rialto, and that space is being converted to an actual plaza next year as the city builds what is dubbed the city square.

On Saturday, the space was occupied by a stage featuring local artists, as Johnson promised.

Local vendors offered unique items not likely to be found at big-box stores or strip malls around town.

“We make our own mojo trees,” said Brent James, describing one of the items his Soul Journey Gems offered at a booth and usually provides online. “They bring a little bit of mojo to your life.”

James, like other vendors, was in costume, adding to the Halloween flair of the event.

“I love Halloween,” Johnson said, adding that that is why he always has hosted a party at his Joliet house and thought he would enlarge it by bringing the festivities downtown.

A large stage featured bands including the Ooozin’ Ahhs, a band from Lyons that specializes in music with a spooky theme.

Jamie Wood at The Raven’s House offered moonstone jewelry and other items that she said are cherished by people who enjoyed a punky youth like her own.

Her booth looked particularly fitting for October, but Wood said there are people who like the moonstone year-round.

Angie Kregg of Instinctive Thrift showed the jewelry she makes from things such as remnant metals and even bingo chips.

“I take broken materials and turn them into jewelry,” Kregg said.

Audiophil’s also offered a format for other vinyl record stores that set up booths and introduced themselves to those attending Panic at the Plaza.

It was a chilly Saturday night as the Johnsons shared their October enjoyment with others in a setting that allowed them to expand the number of people at their party.

“We love Halloween,” Johnson said, “and it’s worked out perfectly.”