It's Scarecrow time

Samantha Rockney of Lisle gets a ride as she looks at the scarecrows on Friday. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@kcchronicle.com)

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ST. CHARLES – A soaking rain and cool temperatures resulted in lower attendance for opening night at the St. Charles Scarecrow Festival Friday.

There were no lines at the food vendors or at the carnival rides, and both walking and finding nearby parking was easy. But the hardy souls who braved the elements merely bundled against the chill and carried umbrellas in case rain should return.

It would take a little more than drippy weather to keep Deborah Meyer of Sugar Grove away.

"I love the scarecrows," Meyer said. "I come every year to see the unique scarecrows and how creative they are."

Her companion, Jenny Sullivan of Gilberts, was here for the first time.

"There's a great selection of things to have to eat and creative ideas on scarecrows and pumpkins," Sullivan said. "I'm having a great time."

For the moment, their favorite scarecrow display was the Wasco Nursery entry, a 75 pound pumpkin done up as a race car driver, complete with a cheering section of smaller, painted pumpkins.

"That's definitely creative," Meyer said.

One entry that drew a lot of attention was Yellow Submarine by Ted Eynik. An entry in the mechanical class, it featured a diorama of a guy in a yellow submarine, rowing with a broom, a twitching shark above and piped music of – We All Live in a Yellow Submarine – by the Beatles.

Chuck Stickney, of St. Charles admired the detail of Yellow Submarine, even as he looked for the entry for the Toastmasters, his group. Their idea was to promote no fear of public speaking.

Stickney said he was glad the rain stopped because everyone connected to the fest had put in a lot of work.

"We should have clear skies ahead," Stickney said. "Attendance is down (tonight) there's no question about that, but bottom line is, there's people out here and that's a positive sign. You're always at the mercy of the weather."

Clear weather is predicted as the festival continues Saturday and Sunday, he said.

Also in attendance on opening night were six nuns of the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco. The Sisters were in town from New Jersey and San Antonio, Texas, Florida, for a meeting said Sister Loretta of St. Patrick Catholic Church in St. Charles.

"It was perfect timing to be able to experience scarecrow festival," Sister Loretta said.

Sister Phyllis from New Jersey and Sister Sandra from San Antonio said they were enjoying the creativity of the entries.

"It's a whole new adventure," Sister Phyllis said. "I've never seen a gathering like this. It's a really nice community event."

"It's a very fall celebration, very creative," Sister Sandra added. "I'm sorry about the rain."