St. Charles Scarecrow Weekend begins with 'the layout a little bit easier'

St. Charles Scarecrow Weekend, formerly known as the St. Charles Scarecrow Festival, is now underway in downtown St. Charles.

The event, now in its 37th year, will run through Sunday. The presenting sponsor for Scarecrow Weekend is AAA.

Starting in 2020, the St. Charles Business Alliance began spreading the scarecrows out throughout the downtown instead of just at Lincoln Park, where they had all been located in prior years, because of the pandemic.

Jenna Sawicki, executive director of the St. Charles Business Alliance, 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."

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.

For details about the weekend's events and lineup, visit scarecrowfest.com.

As a separate event, the Autumn on the Fox Craft Show will be at Pottawatomie Park in St. Charles that same weekend.