Join a day trip to U.S. National Straw Sculpting contest in Ogle County
The Mount Prospect Historical Society is planning a bus trip to the eighth annual U.S. National Straw Sculpting Competition, also known as "Strawfest," in Mount Morris, south of Rockford, for Saturday, Aug. 19. It is promoted as "Fine Art in Straw" and was inspired by former Arlington Heights resident/artist Fran Volz, who now lives nearby in Rockford.
Participants will ride a luxury coach, leaving Mount Prospect at 9 a.m. After arriving in Mount Morris, tour-goers will have plenty of time to enjoy the large, unique straw sculptures, arranged around the picturesque town square only two weeks each year; vote for their favorites; and then tour the Encore! Mt. Morris Old Sandstone Art Gallery, which is filled with local artwork.
After perusing the artwork and straw sculptures, bus tour participants will enjoy boxed lunches of pre-chosen sandwiches in the air-conditioned Pinecrest Grove Auditorium, the home of local theater productions.
Volz, the one who inspired this contest, will speak during lunch about his first exposure to straw sculptures during a trip to Germany; his fondly-remembered "Chicago Snow Competition" event which premiered at Randhurst Shopping Center in 2004 and then moved to Navy Pier, where teams of artists from Spain, China, Germany, Canada and Russia competed; and his other well-known artistic endeavors while living in the Northwest suburbs. Many recall his gorgeous snow sculptures entertaining drivers along Arlington Heights Road each winter.
Following lunch, Jeff Bold, steering committee chairman of "Encore! Mt. Morris" which is working to revitalize the community, will board the bus for a guided tour of local points of interest including White Pines Forest State Park with its rare, picturesque grove of native white pine trees, and "The Eternal Indian" or "Blackhawk" statue along the river in nearby Oregon, which has recently been restored. It is a local landmark by famed sculptor Laredo Taft. Stops for locally-produced maple syrup and locally-grown corn-on-the-cob might also be possible if tour-goers are interested.
Tickets for the Aug. 19 trip are $90 per person; $80 for Mount Prospect Historical Society members, which includes lunch. The tour bus will depart from the historical society, 101 S. Maple St., promptly at 9 a.m., and is expected to return back there by 5 p.m. Comfortable clothing and shoes are strongly urged.
Space is limited, so if you are interested, contact the historical society office at (847) 392-9006 or register online at www.mtphist.org.
Mount Morris' downtown received National Historic District status last summer. It was once the home of the Rock River Seminary, founded in 1839. The beautiful "Old Sandstone" building they built in 1850 survives today. After closing in 1878, due to financial problems, the seminary campus was sold to the Church of the Brethren which opened its own school.
In 1884, the school, under a new charter, was renamed Mount Morris College, and several buildings were constructed. In 1912, a fire destroyed much of Old Sandstone but the outer walls were left standing and were used in its rebuilding. Fire struck again in 1931, and three large campus buildings were destroyed but Old Sandstone was not damaged below the third floor and was again restored. In 1932, after nearly 100 years, the college was closed permanently.
The Mount Prospect Historical Society is closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic. The society continues to follow available information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At this time, the safest way to engage with the society is by using the resources on its website: www.mtphist.org/671-2/on-line-resource. Any changes to the event schedule will be communicated via the website, email and social media.
The Mount Prospect Historical Society is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that is committed to preserving the history of Mount Prospect through artifacts, photographs and both oral and written memories of current and former residents and businesspeople. On its campus in the heart of the village, the society maintains the 1906 Dietrich Friedrichs House Museum, Carriage House, Dolores Haugh Education Center and the 1896 one-room Central School.