St. Charles Scarecrow Festival changing its name to Scarecrow Weekend

Even though the St. Charles Scarecrow Festival is changing its name to St. Charles Scarecrow Weekend, the popular festival is still set to offer plenty of fun throughout the weekend.

The St. Charles Business Alliance and its Events Committee, which organize the festival, have long thought of changing the name of the award-winning event to better represent the mission of the Alliance and the event. The name change is reflective of how the Alliance organizes community events that support St. Charles businesses.

"The mission of the St. Charles Business Alliance is to drive economic growth to make the St. Charles community a destination where people, businesses and tourism thrive," St. Charles Business Alliance Executive Director Jenna Sawicki said in an email.

The festival, now in its 37th year, will take place Oct. 7-9. The presenting sponsor for Scarecrow Weekend is AAA.

Starting in 2020, the Alliance began spreading the scarecrows out throughout the downtown instead of just at Lincoln Park because of the pandemic. Sawicki said people have been receptive to the change.

"We are making the layout a little bit easier this year," she said. "The majority of the scarecrows will be placed on Riverside Avenue and along First Street as well as around Lincoln Park."

The Alliance is accepting applications for the 2022 St. Charles Scarecrow Weekend Contest. To apply, go to scarecrowfest.com.

Like last year, the Family Zone at Lincoln Park will take the place of a carnival. The Family Zone will feature live music, family-friendly activities such as craft projects and other hands-on activities, a magician, a bubbler, a juggler, local dance schools and more.

Thousands of people are expected to attend Scarecrow Weekend. As a separate event, the Autumn on the Fox Craft Show will be at Pottawatomie Park in St. Charles that same weekend.

"We are hoping to have around 30,000 this year," Sawicki said.