What Happens at Yorkville's Riverfront Park After the Scarecrows Come Down

The scarecrows in Riverfront Park East stay up through Saturday, Oct. 31. Under the city's published schedule, crews move onto the far eastern side of the park on Monday, Nov. 2, to begin the last phase of a brick replacement project that has been working around Yorkville's event calendar since Memorial Day.

Eighteen days later, on Friday, Nov. 20, the same park hosts the holiday parade and the lighting of a 22-foot Christmas tree. The way the riverfront has been rebuilt this year explains that tight sequence. Every phase of the project was placed in the space between two events, and the eastern end is the last space left.

A summer of work scheduled around festivals

The city calls the effort the Riverfront Park Brick Walkway & Plaza Replacement Project. As Shaw Local reported in May, the schedule was built so the work would stay out of the way of River Fest and Yorktoberfest. Each phase was meant to begin just after one event and wrap before the next:

1. Phase one, starting May 26: the area around the park's main shelter, scheduled for completion before River Fest on July 18.
2. Phase two, starting July 21: the eastern portion around the shelter.
3. Phase three, starting Aug. 10: the western area around the shelter, scheduled for completion before Yorktoberfest and the Scarecrow Walk.
4. Phase four, starting Nov. 2: the park's far eastern side, plus two more ornamental lights reaching into the wooded area along the river.

The calendar on the other side of that schedule filled up as planned. The Kiwanis Club advertised Yorktoberfest as a free two-day event at Riverfront Park East on Sept. 25 and 26, with proceeds going to scholarships and grants for local students, according to Shaw Local's preview. The Scarecrow Walk followed in the same eastern end of the park.

In June, Shaw Local reported a shorter disruption as well: the downtown bridge at Riverfront Park closed off and on for a week while crews worked on the brick pathways at its entrance. That report also said the full project would continue through November.

Why the bricks are coming up at all

Parks and Recreation Director Tim Evans described the problem at a city meeting, in remarks Shaw Local reported:

"A lot of the bricks are falling apart, becoming a tripping hazard and causing a lot of water issues. We'll be working in phases throughout the summer and fall months. Certain parts of the park will be closed as we're working on it."

Evans said the replacement addresses safety and improves flood control. A few changes go beyond new pavers. The plan calls for crews to install a new dumpster enclosure pad, and the project removes the far western brick access point near Ginger & Soul. Anyone who enters the park from that corner will use a different route once the work is finished. City documents also say significant landscape restoration follows each phase and continues through the whole project.

The scarecrows hold the eastern end through Oct. 31

Right now, the ground slated for phase four belongs to the Scarecrow Walk. Shaw Local reports that the walk runs to Oct. 31 in the eastern end of Riverfront Park East, 131 E. Hydraulic Ave. Residents, businesses and community organizations made the scarecrows, which form a ring along the riverfront pathway.

Voting happens on your phone. Scan the QR code and pick your three favorites. City staff describe the range of entries as "spooky, silly, simple or spectacular." The Parks and Recreation Department will post the winners on its Facebook page after the walk closes.

One entry rewards a slower look. "Happy White Cane Day, Foxes!" was designed and built by Yorkville School District 115 vision staff together with students who are blind or visually impaired. It is a fox with a visual impairment, and it carries the tools those students use: sunglasses, a monocular telescope, a long white cane and a Braille T-shirt. It also has an audio component that describes its visual features. The scarecrow marks National White Cane Day, held each year on Oct. 15.

That leaves a little over a week to walk the ring and vote after this post goes live. When the scarecrows come down, the brick schedule takes over that stretch of path.

Nov. 2: the last phase, on the same ground

The final phase replaces bricks along the park's far eastern side and adds two ornamental lights extending into the wooded area along the river. Shaw Local covered that wooded section in 2024, when Riverfront Park got a planting makeover. The new lights extend the lit path toward it.

If the earlier phases are any guide, expect a fenced-off section rather than a closed park. City documents say steel barricades will section off one phase at a time "maintaining access to most areas of the park." They also say work schedules "will accommodate special events and facility rentals, and construction may pause as needed." Earlier phases were each expected to take several weeks.

Nov. 2 is the start date in the city's published plan, and schedules like this one can move. Before you head down for a riverside walk in early November, check posted signage at the park or contact the Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department at [email protected] for the current closure area. In the city's words, "Please use caution when visiting the area and follow any posted signage or directions from staff."

Nov. 20: the tree goes up in a park still being finished

The Yorkville Holiday Celebration returns to Riverfront Park, 131 E. Hydraulic Ave., on Friday, Nov. 20, while the last phase is scheduled to be underway. The United City of Yorkville and the Parks and Recreation Department host the event, according to the Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Bureau listing, which links to the city's Holiday Celebration page. The event is free and needs no tickets.

On Saturday, Nov. 21, the celebration moves to the Yorkville American Legion, 9054 E. Veterans Pkwy. Santa visits are free from 9 a.m. to noon. The chip-timed Rudolph Run 5K starts at 10 a.m., and the all-ages Jingle Jog Fun Run follows at 12:30 p.m. Both races require registration and charge a fee, and part of the proceeds helps the Knights of Columbus provide food and toys to Kendall County families during the holidays.

The city's general commitment to work around special events is the most recent guidance on how construction and the tree lighting will share the park. If barricades are still up that Friday, the eastern pathways may look different from last year's celebration.

December moves up the hill to Town Square Park

After the tree lighting, the season's next downtown event sits a few blocks from the river. The Deck the Trees Holiday Walk is listed for Dec. 1, 2026, through Jan. 2, 2027, at Town Square Park, 301 N. Bridge St. Local businesses, organizations and families supply decorated, illuminated trees. By then the riverfront should be closer to its finished layout, with new bricks around the main shelter, two more lights along the wooded edge and one fewer access point at the western corner.

At Ryan Hill Group, we watch changes like the Riverfront Park rebuild closely, because the places a community gathers are part of what makes a home there feel like home. If you're a Yorkville homeowner wondering how your property fits into a downtown that keeps investing in itself, Teresa and the team can talk you through it. Get a Free Home Valuation whenever you're ready.