World’s Largest Corn Maze pays homage to John Deere

Richardson Corn Maze honors ag icon John Deere

This year’s maze is a tribute to John Deere, whose namesake came to Illinois in 1836 – the same year that Richardson Farm was established. In 1837, Deere invented a self-scouring steel plow to better handle Illinois’ clay soil, and an American farm icon was born.

The 28-acre maze, which boasts to be the world’s largest, features a portrait of Deere next to the company’s tagline, as well as the steel plow that made him famous, along with John Deere’s more modern offerings. A hammer and anvil representing Deere’s blacksmith roots anchors the maze’s 10.8 miles of trails.

Click here to buy tickets to Richardson Farm. If you’re not familiar with all the adventures the farm has to offer, check out its website at www.richardsonadventurefarm.com – we seriously could fill an entire issue of McH Thrive if we tried to list them all.

Circuit Clerk holding Amnesty Week and Expungement Clinic

During Amnesty Week, from Nov. 8 to 15, people will be able to settle their overdue court fees without any added penalties or interest.

From 9:30 a.m. to noon Nov. 15, the Circuit Clerk’s Office also will co-host an Expungement Clinic at the Michael J. Sullivan Judicial Center. People who attend can get free help preparing and filing requests with the court to get their criminal records cleared.

To learn more about how to take advantage of Amnesty Week, and to register for the Expungement Clinic, click here, or call the Circuit Clerk’s Office at 815-334-4190. Pre-registration is required for the Expungement Clinic – walk-ins cannot be helped.

Chicago Bears legend to headline MCEDC dinner

Legendary Chicago Bears defensive tackle Dan Hampton will be the guest speaker at the McHenry County Economic Development Corp.’s annual awards dinner.

Dan played with the Bears for 12 seasons, including the 1985 Super Bowl Championship season, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

The dinner, at which the MCEDC gives out its annual Business Champion Awards, takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Crystal Lake Holiday Inn.

Stay tuned – we’ll let you know when tickets go on sale!

Next county recycling event scheduled for Saturday

The next event takes place from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday at the County Administration Building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock. This is an event for residential waste only – no business waste will be accepted.

Bring your unwanted TVs and monitors, computers and accessories, printers, fax machines, scanners, video game consoles, portable digital music players and converter boxes. Alkaline non-rechargeable batteries will also be collected.

While most items will be taken for free, there are fees for TVs, monitors and batteries – click here to learn more.

MCCD Hike with Mike walks scheduled through fall

Hike with Mike is a monthly event in which hikers can visit a new MCCD conservation area and take a walk with the chairman to enjoy the benefits of the great outdoors and explore everything that MCCD has to offer.

If you missed last Saturday’s hike at the High Point Conservation Area in Harvard, don’t worry – there’s still the Oct. 19 hike at the McHenry County Prairie Trail in Crystal Lake, and the Nov. 16 hike at the Harrison Benwell Conservation Area in Wonder Lake.

The event is free, but registration is required – visit https://MCCD.me/HikeWMike to sign up.

Summer’s end heralds Crystal Lake Johnny Appleseed Festival

Come to Crystal Lake’s largest one-day event to celebrate the 250th birthday of the real Johnny Appleseed!

The Johnny Appleseed Festival returns to downtown Crystal Lake from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. The day is filled with family events like pony and wagon rides, a petting zoo, games, live music, inflatables, a craft fair, and of course, Johnny Appleseed himself.

John Chapman, a pioneer and missionary, introduced apple trees to large swaths of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. This year’s festival will include multiple nods to his birthday.

Click here, or call Downtown Crystal Lake at 815-479-0835, to learn more.

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What is McH Thrive?

McH Thrive is a collaborative initiative being implemented by McHenry County and the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) in partnership with the McHenry County community, including cities and villages, businesses and residents.