ROCHELLE – Decorated hay bales have been popping up all around town as Rochelle gears up for its fourth annual Hay Day.
The City of Rochelle is preparing for its family-friendly fall festival that will take place Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown Rochelle. The decorated bales are a way for different businesses and organizations to come together and show support for this event.
The idea to decorate the bales originated from a similar practice that occurs in Germany each year. When the City of Rochelle heard about this, they thought it was a perfect fit for the community.
“I just think it is perfect for our farming community to embrace what we are, to roll all of these hay bales into town and decorate them,” said Jenny Thompson, director of marketing, public relations and tourism.
Anyone is able to decorate a bale with any design they want, they just need to acquire them from a local farmer since the city has no more bales to provide.

While the decorated bales are a way for the community to prepare for the event, the festival itself will feature many different vendors and activities for the entire family to enjoy. These activities will include a petting zoo, giant inflatables, crafts, a pumpkin decorating contest and a children’s costume parade that is returning for the first time in many years.
“Many years ago, there was a Halloween parade in Rochelle that was led by a police officer, and we are bringing that back this year. So, at 1 p.m. we are going to have a kid’s costume parade that will start at city hall and loop around downtown,” Thompson explained.
There will also be live music from the Templetons and a magic show performed by Brian Holt at the event.
The first year this event was held, the city was hoping to get 20 people and businesses to sign up and decorate a bale. Since the creation of the event, it has continued to grow each year with there being a total of 49 bales being decorated this year.
While this festival has grown in popularity within the community, it has begun to attract people from all over the state.
“We are getting visitors from the Chicago suburbs and way south of here, coming just to look at these hay bales. They watch on Facebook and see the pictures and then grab the map and go out to find all of them and take pictures standing in front of them. It is just so fun,” Thompson added.
This event happens to be taking place during Fire Protection Week, so the Rochelle Fire Department will also be hosting an open house for anyone that would like to tour the station.