Clean-shaven men, beware. You face arrest and jail if caught roaming the streets Sept. 10 through 12.
Not to fret. Release from incarceration won’t take a lawyer, a judge or a prayer. Just cough up two bucks and you’ll be freed-and it won’t even go on your record.
The bogus bad guys are really just a way for the village to raise money during the Good Old Days celebration. Half of the money will go toward the purchase of Christmas decorations for the village, the other half will be sent to its adopted sister city, Winfield, Mo., to assist with flood relief.
The Illinois village, population 7,675, is discussing formally joining the sister city program to make its Missouri counterpart, population 592, an official member of the family, said Marylou Crane, village president.
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At times, Winfield was under 6 to 8 feet of water, and about 200 homes were destroyed by the raging Missouri River, said Judy Hahs, a member of the Good Old Days planning committee.
The 25th annual festival, to be held downtown, is resurrecting the beard-or-arrest fundraiser for this year’s celebration.
All men age 18 and over on a village street without a beard (or a substantial effort visible to attain one) will be hauled by volunteer marshals to a makeshift jail on Winfield Road.
Fake facial hair also will be available for sale, at $1.50 a pop, at area merchants.
Other scheduled events include a bed race, carnival, arts and crafts display, beer garden, parade, treasure hunt, horseshoe tournament and pony rides.
Festival planners hope to double the average attendance of 10,000 to 15,000 people, Hahs said.