St. Charles, Illinois nestled in the scenic Fox River Valley and just one hour west of Chicago was the site of the 23rd annual Scarecrow Festival. A tremendously popular event, the Scarecrow Festival which ran this year October 10-12 is ranked as one of North America’s Top 100 Events by the American Bus Association. The Festival which began in 1985 and has been going strong ever since. The three day event attracts over 60,000 visitors and organizers confirm that number returned for this year’s run in spite of a shaky economy and uncertain gasoline prices.

There were plenty of things to do and see in this Chicago suburb family fun event but the centerpiece are the Scarecrows, handcrafted with the utmost in creativity. More than 100 scarecrows were on display and free ballots were provided for patrons to vote for their favorite in a variety of categories. According to an event spokesperson “...they are the heart and soul of the event and viewing them has become a fall tradition. We have parents who, as children created Scarecrow entries for our just for fun contest, who now bring their own children to the festival.”

The Scarecrow display and contest at Lincoln Park were enhanced by a slew of other opportunities for fun including: the Autumn on the Fox Fine Art & Craft Show with 200 juried artisans; a Farmer’s Market, an Art Show, commercial vendors, a carnival, model railroad exhibit, Corvette Show, plenty of children’s activities and continuous live entertainment with bands, dancing and much more.

The 2009 Scarecrow Festival will offer plenty of opportunities for individuals, organizations, and business to promote their services or sell items. See the following list for the contact information in each of the areas: