Star Wars Day back on in Joliet

Star Wars Day in Joliet was supposedly canceled for good Friday, but it was back on as of Monday – in a form to be determined later.

Joliet Public Library Executive Director Megan Millen appeared before the City Council at its Monday meeting and said there will be some form of Star Wars Day in 2022.

“The library stands ready to partner with other organizations to revisit an event for 2022,” Millen said.

The library, which organizes the event, announced on Friday that it was ending the downtown Star Wars Day for good and would replace it with an alternative event at the Black Road branch.

Millen took a bit of a scolding from Councilwoman Jan Quillman for announcing the event would be ended without consulting with the city.

“I was beside myself,” Quillman said of the news. “Nobody called for help. If you were in trouble, you should have asked for help.”

Millen did not say exactly what kind of event would occur.

But after she left the council chambers, she did say it would be a downtown event and not be the series of Star Wars movie nights at the Black Road branch that the library had been considering as an alternative.

“I think there’s a way of getting it done with different partners,” Millen said.

Star Wars Day attracted more than 10,000 people downtown in 2019, the last year it was held before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Library officials had said that planning for the event had become challenging for the library staff. Millen’s comments indicated there may be new helpers involved in the planning.

“I do think there will be a way forward with this,” Mayor Bob O’Dekirk said, adding that he discussed the matter with Millen earlier in the day.