Scarecrow Festival

A couple of weeks ago Jim and I went to the annual Scarecrow Festival in the great little city of Ottawa, IL. This city has several nicknames, but the one I like is, "The Town of Two Rivers", because it sits in the valley where the Illinois and Fox Rivers meet.

Ottawa is famous for being the location of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate. This huge rock (about 5 feet tall!) first commemorated the spot.

A few years ago the city added these beautiful sculptures and water fountains to the site.

There is also a mural commemorating this debate, but I will show you that in my next post. Right now I will stick to the scarecrows.

Mr. Lincoln, here, was outside the Visitor's Center. He stood about 7 feet tall with his hat on. I saw him when I walked in, but totally forgot about him when I was walking out. Of course, he scared the bejesus out of me! I swallowed my scream, and for THAT, I was glad. Didn't want to make TOO big of a fool of myself! Ha ha!

Onto the scarecrows!

There were plenty of scary ones! In fact, they were the majority! And many of them were based on characters from movies.

"IT" by Stephen King

Looks like another "IT". Whatever "IT" is, it's scary. I HATE clowns!

Now you might think this next scarecrow doesn't look too scary. Well, both his hands MOVED. I had to wait to take this shot because people were taking their own photos with him. One mom wanted her young son (about 2-3 years old) to pose with the scarecrow. Which he was ready to do, until she said, "LOOK! His fingers are moving!" The kid then wouldn't look at the camera; instead keeping his eyes on the hands!

Bride of Frankenstein?

The Exorcist

The Joker (with one crooked foot). I was tempted to fix it! Plus, was he a cross dresser? Aren't those women's shoes?

Children of the Corn (movie)

Is this a character from a Tim Burton movie?

A smart mummy with rat friends

A coffee nut who obviously eats a LOT of donuts with his coffee!

I first thought, "What does this have to do with Harry Potter?" And then I realized, he's just READING the book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Oh.

One of the nicest ones - C'mon - everyone sing - "Somewhere over the rainbow...."

I'm not sure about this one. He was situated on the corner of a busy intersection. I found the witch's hat in the intersection. Either it fell off a witch zooming by on her broom, or a wind blew it off of this scarecrow's head. I stuffed it back on his head since I didn't see any witch circling back to claim her hat. Not sure if that hat goes with the costume, but, hey, what can ya do, right?

This was cool. The sign read, "Take a bite out of juvenile diabetes. Clever.

Martha Freaky Stewart?

Next Post: A Little Tour of Ottawa