Spring into fall with annual St. Charles Scarecrow Fest
"Shall we make his head bigger?"
"I need more hay!"
Such were the comments that rang out Saturday in St. Charles as parents and grandparents realized there's a technique to transforming castoff clothes and straw into a respectable scarecrow.
Fortunately, experts were on hand to assist at the 32nd annual St. Charles Scarecrow Fest.
"Pull the nylons through the pants and tension them at the very end before you tie the bottom of the legs," explained Monica Randall, a volunteer with the Boy Scouts at a do-it-yourself scarecrow booth.
Throngs of locals and tourists hung on tight for rides like "Pharoah's Fury," checked out vintage cars, sampled cider doughnuts and voted for best scarecrow.
One exhibit that had little kids gawking and grown-ups chuckling was "Godzilla Vs. Scarecrowville," the brainchild of Ted Eynik and his wife, Christine, of St. Charles.
Months in the making, the scaly, straw reptile towered over a mini-Scarecrow Fest replica, roaring as Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla" played.
The couple started work in July incorporating cardboard, chicken wire, straw, and window screens into a masterpiece. It's became a family tradition for the Eyniks.
"We like to make the kids happy," Christine Eynik said.
Other crowd-pleasers included an intricate straw ballerina, a monster mash with witches, zombies and vampires, and the Grim Reaper ferrying souls along the Fox River.
St. Charles resident Tom Owensby, a newly transplanted Californian, posed with friends in front of one exhibit.
"I didn't know straw sculpting was a thing but apparently it is," Owensby quipped. "I'll have to practice when I get home."
Brittney Ross of Elgin used to visit the fest as a kid. Saturday she returned with a different perspective as she watched 2-year-old son, Westin, take in the sights.
"It's something fun to do on a fall day," Ross said.
The fun continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown St. Charles. For information, go to scarecrowfest.com.