St. Charles Scarecrow Fest Kicks Off This Week

The 31st annual Scarecrow Fest will kick off this week.

The popular festival will run from Oct. 7 through Oct. 9 in downtown St. Charles. All of the signature events that make the fest so unique and memorable will be back this year, including a full roster of live entertainment and returning popular headliner bands, according to a press release from the Greater St. Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau.

New events include a vintage auto display by St. Charles’ own Baltria Vintage Auto Gallery. Baltria will display part of its diverse inventory at the Fest this year. The Baltria Vintage Auto Zone will also feature professionally carved pumpkins and other activities all weekend.

On Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m, you can paint with All Things Art Studio on its collaborative multimedia scarecrow. And on Saturday, from 11 to 1 p.m., you can enjoy a children’s craft with the St. Charles History Museum and then an activity with Camp Kane from 2 to 4 p.m. The family fun continues with a petting zoo and Glowby the Bubbler creating bubbles of every size.

This year, the Arcada Theatre is celebrating 90 years of entertainment, and has loaded the Fest stage with acts of all kinds for all ages each day. All performances will take place in the Arcada Theatre Zone, which is located at Lincoln Park at 4th and Main streets, according to the news release The entertainment lineup includes top bands 7th Heaven, 97Nine, and Billy Elton.

And, of course, there will be plenty of scarecrows on display as part of the annual Scarecrow Contest. This year's contest will feature over 100 competing scarecrow creations entered by families, individuals, clubs, businesses, and not for profits of all kinds in the Arcada Theatre Zone, according to the news release. This year the Clubs/Not-for-profit/Individual category will award seven entries, giving contest participants even more chances to win.

New this year, the Topgolf Action Zone will feature Topgolf’s Golf Game Simulator for a chance to win prizes. It will also host the Fox Valley Ice Arena Challenge and a photo op area. And on Sunday, from 12 to 3 p.m., Miss Illinois will make a special appearance.

The Jewel-Osco Zone will host the very popular pumpkin decorating for kids where there will be opportunities to win prizes at the Jewel-Osco booth. Also, don’t miss demonstrations by St. Charles Gymnastics Academy on Saturday and Sunday and carnival rides provided by Windy City Amusements. A wrist band special is available from 6 to 10 p.m. on Thursday and from 12 to 4 p.m. on Friday only.

The Make Your Own Scarecrow event returns this year, but will have two locations each day of the Fest in the Baltria Vintage Auto Zone and in the Topgolf Action Zone. The ever-popular Autumn on the Fox Arts & Crafts Show, with handmade arts and crafts from more than 150 exhibitors, will once again take residence in Pottawatomie Park, according to the news release.

As always, admission and parking are free. Fest guests are encouraged to take advantage of the free shuttles from The Quad (formerly Charlestowne Mall) and School District 303 parking lots. The trolley route will extend to Pottawatomie Park this year.

For more information about Scarecrow Fest, visit www.ScarecrowFest.com.