Joliet's Greatest Night Ever? 25,000 Show Up For Goo Goo Dolls: Photos

Taste of Joliet, led by the Joliet Park District, has turned into one of the Midwest's most popular three-day summer music and food events.

John Ferak, Patch Staff

Posted Fri, Jun 21, 2024 at 11:32 pm CT|Updated Sat, Jun 22, 2024 at 10:13 am CT

Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy was ecstatic with Friday night's Taste of Joliet crowd, an estimated 25,000 people filled Memorial Stadium for the Goo Goo Dolls concert. (John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor )

JOLIET — Why was Joliet Mayor Terry D'Arcy smiling everywhere he went on Friday night as he greeted hundreds of people at the Taste of Joliet? It was the crowd. D'Arcy was thrilled with the first day of turnout for the Taste of Joliet. D'Arcy assured Joliet Patch that Friday night's crowd reached 25,000 people inside Memorial Stadium.

For last year's 2023 concert featuring Train, the Taste of Joliet drew an estimated 22,000 people but drew at least 55,000 spectators over the entire three-day period.

But with the world-famous Goo Goo Dolls taking center stage, people from all over, including neighboring states, traveled to Joliet's Memorial Stadium to be a part of something special.

Find out what's happening in Jolietfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Joliet Patch's editor spent eight hours filming videos and capturing photos of Taste of Joliet on Friday. You can rewatch the Facebook Live videos on the Joliet Patch Facebook page.

Here's a collection of the entire day's photos, a great day for Joliet as the Taste of Joliet and Joliet Park District director Brad Staab lived up to the city's motto, The City of Champions.