If someone claims “there’s nothing to do” on Saturday, they’re not in downtown Naperville.
Two back-to-back events are sure to draw big crowds.
The first is the annual classic car show hosted by Downtown Naperville from 9 a.m. to noon on Jackson Avenue between Eagle and Main streets.
The other is a Juneteenth celebration presented by Naperville Neighbors United from noon to 3 p.m. at Rotary Park.
The annual car show promises to bring about 100 classic vehicles to downtown.
It’s not a contest, Katie Wood, interim director of Downtown Naperville said Monday. No trophies are presented.
“I think they’re all winners,” she said. “They’re all beautiful. Each car owner is so proud of their car. They’ve worked so hard on it, and love to talk about it, tell people the history, where they got it, what they’ve done to it.”
She noted that “classic cars” means they look how they did when they rolled off of the assembly line, she said.
Years ago, classic car clubs approached Downtown Naperville with the idea of having a car show.
“We thought, ‘Yeah, why don’t we do this,’” she recalled.
Unlike some car shows, there’s no charge to display a vehicle and admission is free to admire the four-wheeled beauties.
“It’s a fun thing to bring your dad to, to bring you family to. It’s a look back in time,” Wood said.
Some of the cars date back to the 1930s and 1920s, she said. And there will be newer models to see.
After the car show, you can stroll over to Rotary Hill Park for a Juneteenth celebration hosted by Naperville Neighbors United.
Saily Joshi, the executive director of NNU, said the celebration of Juneteenth — now a federal holiday — has important historical implications.
Juneteenth, sometimes known as Black Independence Day, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. It became a federal holiday in 2021.
“Technically, it’s when the state of Texas was the last state where slaves were freed,” she said.
On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the war had ended and that enslaved people were now free, two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
News traveled slowly in those pre-Internet days.
According to the group’s website, the event will celebrate Naperville’s rich diversity by including spoken word, musical and dance and performances by the many African-American individuals and groups in the community.
There also will be speeches by elected officials and other community leaders, Joshi said.
The federal holiday is observed on June 19, but the Naperville Neighbors United decided Saturday was the better day to celebrate as more people will be able to attend.
That’s a good idea given the escalating popularity of recent Juneteenth celebrations.
“It has grown in attendance every year,” Joshi said. “We had 300 the first year, a little over 600 last year. This year, we have more than 1,000 registered to attend.”
Tickets are free.
“It’s exciting to see the community come together to recognize this holiday. And people of all colors too,” Joshi said.
A gospel choir, the Cosmopolitan Church of Prayer Choir, will perform as will Mays Music, a choir based in Naperville.
“There will be some artists also there with interpretative dance,” she said.
A jump rope team and a stepping group will also provide entertainment.
There will be information tents, a couple food trucks — including some soul food — and free samples of ice cream courtesy of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Joshi said.
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
