VIDEO: Haley Tells Hundreds 'You're Nuts' for Greeting Her in the Rain

Hundreds of Haley Reinhart’s friends, relatives and fans braved a cool and rainy afternoon to welcome the 20-year-old back to Wheeling for the American Idol hometown celebration.

The crowd included people of all ages who came from near and far to celebrate Reinhart’s placement in the competition’s final three.

The Hembd family of Wheeling was among the first to arrive on the village’s Community Campus. Mom Alexis, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a heart, stood to the left of her five kids, Kasey, Zack, Austin, Justine and Samantha, whose shirts each bore a letter of Haley’s name.

Reinhart was once the family’s babysitter, they said, and they vote for her each week.

“We love her. She’s got talent,” Alexis Hembd said.

A group of about 30 of Reinhart’s relatives agreed. They arrived in Wheeling wearing matching “I Love Haley” T-shirts, anxious to see her.

Reinhart’s cousin, Karen Eastman, said she just got back from Hollywood, where she watched a live American Idol competition.

“It was awesome. It’s nothing like watching it at home. It’s like, wow!” she said.

She said she expects her cousin to go all the way. “I think it will be between her and Scotty [McCreery], but she’s going to blow him away,” Eastman said.

Cheryl and Aaron Azoff of Vernon Hills have never met Reinhart, but they are huge American Idol fans and said they expect Reinhart to be named this season’s winner.

“She’s got the full package. The personality, the drive, the range as far as her music is concerned,” Cheryl Azoff said. “We’re looking forward to hearing, ‘the winner of American Idol is Haley Reinhart.”

Wheeling Village President Judy Abruscato, in a proclamation that makes May 14 “Haley Reinhart Day” in Wheeling, praised Reinhart’s “extraordinary talents as a vocalist and performer” and predicted that “in a couple of weeks, we’re going to hear our Haley is an American Idol.”

She reminded Saturday’s crowd to “vote, vote, vote” for the singer Wednesday night.

For many, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Wheeling resident Chris Sprague said she cast 1,400 text message votes for Reinhart last week alone.

“I like how she sings, and she’s from Wheeling,” she explained with a shrug.

Wheeling residents Roxie and Dave Siemiaszko said they voted a couple hundred times for Reinhart after her past few performances.

“Now that she needs the votes, we’re pushing for her,” said Dave Siemiaszko, who carried a “Haley 4 Postmaster General” sign to the hometown celebration.

Why, you ask?

“Why not? What the heck,” he said.

Roxie Siemiaszko, who created a more traditional sign of her own, laughed at her husband’s campaign phrase. “After she wins Idol, she can win anything,” she said.

After many crowd members waited upwards of two hours for Reinhart’s arrival, she made her entrance just before 5 p.m. in a Ford Mustang convertible that was part of her hometown parade. (See video above.) The singer and her family received a police escort onto the stage, from which she blew kisses and delivered brief remarks to her fans.

“You’ve made it a dream come true,” she said, under the protection of a canopy, while rain came down on the crowd of spectators. “Thank you so much. This is unbelievable. It’s raining and you’re still here,” she said. “You’ve got your umbrellas and you’re camped out. You’re nuts!”

The ceremony, which also included Abruscato’s proclamation and private comments to Reinhart from State Rep. Carol Sente (D-59th), lasted about 15 minutes; Reinhart was then ushered into the waiting American Idol limo for her final stop of the day — Arlington Park, where she performed a concert in a sold-out stadium.

Her relatives weren’t sure how much time they’d get with Reinhart, who they said is taking a red-eye flight back to Hollywood tonight to continue Idol practices.

They hoped to see her following the Arlington Park performance, as but her cousin Delores Fitak, who traveled from Manteno, IL, for Saturday’s festivities, said, “just to be there for her, to know that her whole family is here for her,” might have to make do.