Pink just looks so good in Forest Park.
Not one, but two Barbie-themed homes took home top honors at the annual Scarecrow Invasion.
In a world full stereotypical Barbies, it was “Weird Barbie,” by Zackary McDowell of 937 Circle that was awarded as the most Artistic.
Across town, the People’s Choice award went to the interactive Barbie Photo Booth by Burhan Syed of 301 Elgin, as skeleton Barbies were ready to party with the Barbie scarecrows.
Forest Park Bank-loan and deposit operations took home the Most Historical Scarecrow, finding inspiration from the Monsters of the Midway, Da Coach, Mike Ditka. While Iron Mike was on Madison, around the corner, the vital role of transportation was celebrated with the CTA Rail Operator created by Hillary Mason of 439 Hannah, who took home the prestigious honor of Forest Park Pride.
The popular Scarecrow Invasion, a collaboration between the Historical Society of Forest Park and the Arts Alliance raised $1,500 from the participants, which will be used for exhibits, programs, and events.
This year, a Scarecrow display was put in River Forest, too, and participation outside of Forest Park is welcome.
This year the organizers added a category to honor the block with the greatest participation, which was the 900 block of Circle. It had four displays along both sides of the street.
The invasion comes just once a year and planning for next year has started.
Luckily, with the presidential election coming in November 2024, the return of Kung Fu Panda, Dune, the Joker, Beetle Juice and a movie called Terrifier 3 on the horizon, there will be plenty of material to draw inspiration from to make next year’s invasion incredible.
