Organizers: StrawFest Day successful end to straw-sculpting competition

MT. MORRIS – The ninth annual U.S. National Straw Sculpting Competition culminated in a day full of activities, music and awards.

StrawFest Day took place on the Mt. Morris campus Aug. 24, featuring blacksmith demos, round straw bale races in the street, food trucks, pop-up live music on the Straw Jam stage and more. It was the final hurrah of the event that ran from Aug. 9 to 25 showcasing large straw sculptures.

“If you talk about the whole thing, overall, I think it went well,” organizer Jeff Bold said. “I love the fact that you walk uptown [to the sculptures] and sometimes it’s a big crowd, sometimes it’s a handful of people, but there’s always somebody there.”

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Keegan Shirley (left), of Dixon, and Jonathan Ulrich, of Beloit, Wisconsin, race to roll a 1,000 pound straw bale Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, at StrawFest in downtown Mt. Morris. StrawFest was a part of the ninth annual U.S. National Straw Sculpting Competition. (Alexa Zoellner)

The U.S. National Straw Sculpting Competition started in Rochelle in 2016, after artist Fran Volz visited the small village of Höchenschwand, Germany, which hosts an annual straw-sculpting competition that draws thousands of visitors. The event moved to Mt. Morris in 2017, where it is hosted by Encore! Mt. Morris.

“StrawFest Day itself went well,” Bold said. “I think it’s a success. Certainly, we’ll continue.”

Five straw sculptures were entered in this year’s competition and were showcased alongside entries from past years.

Sculptures must be a minimum of 6.5 feet in height, length or width and at least 90% straw on the surface, according to competition rules.

Awards

First place for People’s Choice was “Merry Summerweenmas,” by father-daughter duo Mark and Danica Rogers of Rochelle. The sculpture of Jack Skellington, from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” hanging an ornament on a Christmas tree also tied for second place in the Artists’ Choice category.

Jenna Springer of Mt. Morris claimed second place in People’s Choice with her sculpture of Olaf the snowman, from “Frozen,” titled “Some Towns Are Worth Melting For.”

“Peek A Boo” – a giant owl landing over a log with its talons open to catch a hiding mouse – took third place in People’s Choice and first place in Artists’ Choice. The piece was built by Steve Lentz of Montello, Wisconsin.

Husband-and-wife team Chris and Cecilia Mann of Rockford tied for second place in Artists’ Choice with “Chateau Castor canadensis,” which depicts a beaver on a mound with a stick in its feet.

The final sculpture was “Freedom,” by Doreen Hartman of Shannon. The giant bald eagle was dedicated to Vietnam veterans.