Towns gearing up for 2nd ‘Scarecrows’ contest

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN
Residents of Ramona, Tampa, Lost Springs, Lincolnville and Burdick are invited to participate in the second annual Scarecrows on Parade competition Oct. 10-31.

The contest has several categories: residential ($50 and trophy for first place, $30 for second and $20 for third); business (trophy and photograph); kid entries, a first prize will be awarded in each town for a scarecrow built primarily by children; and a Special Artistic Award.

Scarecrows must be up by Oct. 10, and must be homemade. Store-bought scarecrows can be displayed, but won’t be considered for prizes.

Rural residents who want to be considered for a prize should locate their scarecrows within the city limits of the nearest town. Representatives should be contacted to find a suitable location.

All entries must be outside if they’re to be judged. They will remain up for public viewing until Oct. 31.

People who live in one of the five participating towns and plan to put up a scarecrow, should let the following representatives know about it: Sylvia Bailey, Lincolnville, 785-924-5742; Carole Spohn, Tampa, 785-965-2639; Steve Seifert, Lost Springs, 785-983-4371; Connie Johnson, Burdick, 785-983-4459; Jessica Gilbert, Ramona, 785-965-7110.

Contest coordinator Jessica Gilbert of Ramona will create a map showing the locations of all scarecrows in five 5 towns. The maps will be available in every town by Oct. 14.

The first round of evaluation will be done by judges from each city; the top three entries in each category will be combined with all the other towns.

Three judges from Marion County will then view all the scarecrows on the weekend of Oct. 14-15 and the winners will be announced.

“The purpose of Scarecrows on Parade is to get folks coming through our towns and to promote them stopping to eat, shop or increase their awareness of what businesses are in the area,” said Gilbert.

“Last year we had 232 scarecrows featured in 120 displays between the five towns.”

The event is sponsored by Agri-Producers, Al’s Cafe, Bailey’s Grill & Tavern, Burdick Meat Market, The California Sisters, Cow Camp Inc., Granny’s Little Grill, Pilsen State Bank, Ramona Café, Tampa State Bank, Tatge Manufacturing and an anonymous donor from Newton who gave prize money for the children’s awards.

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