Old Naperville Day Event Returns After 2-Year COVID-19 Hiatus

NAPERVILLE, IL — When the organizers of Old Naperville Day originally planned a city-wide block party six years ago they never anticipated it being more than a one-time event.

But after two years of pandemic-related cancelations and delays, Old Naperville Day will return on Sunday with a day full of food vendors, live music, and community spirit that event organizers hope is bigger and better than in 2019.

This year’s event will take place from 12-7 p.m. on Sunday on West Chicago Avenue in front of Naperville’s Lantern tavern. The block party also includes family activities and family-friendly events in an atmosphere that organizers hope is different than other community festivals that are popular during the summer around the greater Chicago area. The event is free to attend.

This year’s event will also feature a bags tournament for the first time, which organizers hope only adds to the neighborhood vibe that made the first Old Naperville Day such a hit. After the Lantern sponsored the first event in 2016 to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Naperville Mayor Steve Chirco tapped the third Sunday in August as Old Naperville Day to commemorate the festive environment.

Those interested in registering for the bags tournament can do so here. There is a $20 entry fee to participate.

“We want it to be akin back to what we think of just a neighborhood-friendly block party,” said Chad Pedigo, one of the volunteer organizers of Old Naperville Day.

“It’s really meant to be as family-friendly and community-friendly as possible for everyone to enjoy.”

Organizers are stressing the affordability of the event, which features food vendors from Naperville restaurants and other businesses. But Old Naperville Day’s proximity to all that downtown Naperville has to offer also makes the location ideal for visitors to the city that might not get to experience the business district’s appeal on a regular basis.

Old Naperville Day also benefits DuPage Pads, which works to end local homelessness in communities like Naperville and the surrounding areas. Pedigo said that organizers realized that they had a hit on their hands as soon as the inaugural event finished up. But when the COVID-19 pandemic set in and forced the event to be canceled in 2020 and 2021, the event planning committee knew that they wanted to bring the one-day block party back when it was safe to do so.

Pedigo, who represents DuPage Pads, which has three congregate shelters in Naperville, said the event is also a chance for the not-for-profit organization that provides support for the homeless, to give back to a community that has provided so much support.

The committee has spent the past two years planning out this weekend’s event, which is expected to draw between 4,000 and 5,000 people after the 2019 event capped out at around 4,000, Pedigo said.

Old Naperville Day is meant to celebrate community like other local events like Salute on July 4 and Last Fling, which takes place on Labor Day. While the other events also provide an opportunity to enjoy live music and local food and drink, the organizers of Old Naperville Day are stressing the neighborly feel of the one-day block party that is meant to bring friends and neighbors together in a more casual environment.

And after two years away, organizers are hoping that this year’s Old Naperville Day can be a celebration of coming together after two years of pandemic-related restrictions.

“I think we need this,” Pedigo said. “We’ve been in isolation and social-distanced for so long that we’ve kind of remanded ourselves to that. An opportunity to come together with friends and family and be outdoors in an open space which certainly reduces the opportunity for the spread of COVID is a nice way for folks to be able to get together with people they haven’t seen in a long time or people they want to share their time with.”