Thanksgiving tradition — Barrington bonfire burns bright following Eagle Bowl

Tradition carries on despite the weather

Posted 12/2/24

Hundreds of people turned out for the annual bonfire and Eagle Bowl at Barrington High School.

Held two days before Thanksgiving, the event draws plenty of current and former students. It kicked …

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Thanksgiving tradition — Barrington bonfire burns bright following Eagle Bowl

Tradition carries on despite the weather

Posted

Hundreds of people turned out for the annual bonfire and Eagle Bowl at Barrington High School.

Held two days before Thanksgiving, the event draws plenty of current and former students. It kicked off with an exciting flag football game — members of the senior class squared off against BHS juniors for bragging rights. 

After the game, the crowd shifted its attention to an enormous pile of wooden pallets stacked 25-feet tall on the dirt infield of the JV baseball field. At about 7 p.m., official lit the bonfire.

There were questions about whether the bonfire would be held this year, following more than a month of extreme drought. But about a week before the event, Mother Nature smiled on Barrington and unleashed two heavy rain storms. In fact, rain pushed across Barrington just hours before this year’s bonfire was lit. 

Patrick Scott, a BHS alum and teacher at Barrington High School, helps organize the annual event. Scott recruits members of the BHS football team to help unload the pallets from a tractor trailer truck and stack them up. 

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