Joliet celebrates Halloween spirits and new music boxes

The Joliet City Center Partnership will unveil of a Downtown Music Box Project on Wednesday while downtown businesses will host a Halloween-themed evening called Spirits with the Spirits.

Spirits with the Spirits starts at 4:30 p.m. with lessons to learn the “Thriller” dance at the Joliet Public Library at 150 N. Ottawa St. and continues through the night.

Meanwhile, a ribbon-cutting for the Downtown Music Box Project will take place at 5 p.m. in front of Harrah’s Casino at 151 N. Joliet St. as the city exhibits it latest use of local art talent downtown.

The Downtown Music Box Project brought in artists to decorate downtown utility boxes to celebrate bands, musicians and songs.

“Joliet has a rich music history and a strong local artist movement,” Priscilla Cordero, executive sirector of the Joliet City Center Partnership (JCCP), said in a news release announcing the ribbon-cutting. “This project is a perfect opportunity to blend both of those histories while also promoting downtown Joliet.”

The JCCP invites the public to attend the ribbon-cutting and stay downtown for Spirits With the Sprits.

Seventeen downtown businesses and restaurants will take part in Spirits With the Spirits with Halloween-themed activities and menu items.

Some activities include:

• Costume contests at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Azul Celeste Bar & Grill, 307 N. Chicago St.

• Free Tarot card readings at Colibri: The Hummingbird Oases, 215 N. Chicago St. from 5 to 9 p.m. and at C&C Vision Gallery, 179 N. Chicago St. from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

• Tamara Martinez’s Halloween Acoustic performing at the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum, 9 W. Cass St. from 6 to 8 p.m.

• A menu that includes The Frankenstein, Nightmare on Cass Street and Beetlejuice in the Icon Room at The Forge, 22 W. Cass St.

• Ghost tours at the Rialto Square Theatre. 102 N. Chicago St. at 5:15 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

• Live music at Chicago Street Pub, 75 N. Chicago St. and Richardson’s Downtown Sports Bar and Grill, 81 N. Chicago St.

For a full list of Spirts with the Sprits activities and more information about the Downtown Music Box Project, visit the City Center Partnership website at www.jolietccp.com.