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Photos courtesy of Sydney Loughran Wolf.
This year, the Hermitage Hill neighborhood opted for the Headless Horseman theme. Pictured here are scarecrows representing Ichabod Crane, Katrina Von Tassel, and schoolchildren.
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Schuyler and Charlie Wolf build a scarecrow.
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Eveline Vestjens places the final touches on her scarecrow.
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The Scarecrow Festival began six years ago under the direction of former Frontenac Mayor, Lee Murray.
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Public Works staffers install the scarecrows.
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Headless Horseman in front of the Hermitage Hill subdivision.
Take a drive along any major roadway in Frontenac, Mo, including its many subdivisions, and prepare to be greeted by scarecrows outfitted in costumes ranging from scary to silly. Every year, for the two weeks prior to and just after Halloween, the City of Frontenac celebrates the holiday in a creative and fun way with its annual Scarecrow Festival.
Lee Murray, former Mayor of Frontenac, was inspired to create the city’s own Festival after seeing one several years ago during a visit to New Hampshire. “I wanted to build a sense of community in Frontenac, and thought the festival would be a great way to bring residents together.”
Now in its sixth year, with Murray and the city staff still spearheading the event, the Festival has grown in size and scope. Last year more than 75 scarecrows were constructed by residents and installed by Public Works staffers. Since most scarecrows were built by groups of two or more, Murray estimates that several hundred people participated.
During the weekdays designated for assembly weeks prior to Halloween, families, individuals, businesses, scout troops, even subdivision “teams” show up to work in the Public Works Department behind City Hall. The city provides the wooden scarecrow “skeletons,” straw, markers and twine; residents bring clothes, hats and props to outfit their scarecrows.
Costumes run the gamut, says Murray. The Hermitage Hill subdivision works as a team and prefers to create a theme around their scarecrows. In the past, neighbors have done the Wizard of Oz, a skeleton wedding, Harry Potter, and this year, the Headless Horseman. Frontenac Estates likes to make scarecrows representing various baseball teams that have made it to the playoffs. A few years ago, the Faith Des Peres Church constructed a choir of scarecrows in robes.
“In the past, the scarecrows were up for a week to ten days before Halloween,” says Murray, “but the city received complaints that it wasn’t long enough for everyone to see all of them. So this year, they’ll be up for a full two weeks leading up to Halloween.”
"The City staff gets behind the Festival, and a lot of credit should go to them for making this a great community event," says Murray.
And every year, residents look forward to their October visitors, whether it’s a scarecrow dressed in tennis whites or a spooky goblin or ghost. “It’s unique to Frontenac, and brings our neighborhood together,” says Aukje Vestjens, a resident of Frontenac.
Fifth-grader Cami Wise sums up the experience this way: “It gets me in the spirit of Halloween, and it makes me proud to say to my friends, “Yeah, I helped make those!”
