Up to 300 spooky faces are expected to pop up in October around Forest Park, as the Historical Society of Forest Park and the Forest Park Arts Alliance launch their Invasion of the Scarecrows fundraiser.
An annual tradition since 2021, the Invasion of the Scarecrows fundraiser encourages Forest Park residents to purchase scarecrow kits which contribute to year-round programs put on by the Historical Society and Arts Alliance.
The scarecrow kits include instructions, a wooden frame, a scarecrow head, a cable tie and a sign. Standard kits are being sold for $35, child kits for $25 and kits painted by an artist for $45. Residents can also choose to reuse previous scarecrows and purchase a 2024 sign for $5.
Uli Lieb, treasurer of the Forest Park Historical Society, is looking forward to seeing how Forest Park residents customize their scarecrows this year. “People are so extremely creative. They just have amazing and wonderful displays,” Lieb said. “I am looking forward to seeing just the amazing creativity and the different things that people come up with.”
A list of all scarecrow locations will be published prior to the launch of the Invasion on Oct. 1, and an interactive map on the Historical Society website will also display where each scarecrow is located. Additionally, the Historical Society is working to organize a bike tour with Forest Park residents on Oct. 27 — just before Halloween — to showcase the scarecrows around the neighborhood.
“We really like the idea of having it be a little bit of a community builder, with people going around and looking at each other’s scarecrows,” Lieb said.
Throughout the month of October, the Forest Park community will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite scarecrows. At the end of the month, four scarecrows will be chosen as Most Historic, Most Artistic, People’s Choice and Forest Park Pride. For Forest Park residents hoping to win a prize, Lieb says to “just be creative and keep in mind the categories.”
In addition to these four categories, this year, a new prize will be awarded for the most involved block in Forest Park. Lieb hopes that this prize will continue to foster the sense of community that they believe defines Forest Park.
“This town has a sense of community that I have never experienced anywhere else where I have lived. There is a real sense of community already, and continuing that, and making sure that it stays strong is really important to the residents.”