At first, children would run through the plots sounding wooden clappers, sending those annoying crows to flight. Later adults took on this task of guarding the crops, some keeping watch in straw huts, as Native Americans did, or stood on wooden lookouts.

The Edmonds Museum, the families, the friends, the bird lovers, in Edmonds are not going to vanquish the crows, but we don’t mind giving them a good scare! Have you ever had an encounter with a crow that scared you? It has happened to some of us!

And now with summer behind us and autumn in the air, it’s time to start thinking about the annual Edmonds Museum-sponsored Scarecrow Festival. All information including critical dates, voting instructions, and even instructions for how to build a scarecrow is available on the museum’s website Scarecrow Festival Page, and the Scarecrow Festival Hotline, 425-774-6507.

You can register between Oct. 1-22, so mark your calendars!

Last year there were 85 scarecrows in Edmonds; the goal this year is 100! Wow! That is quite a challenge, but with all the creative, artistic, and fun-loving folks in Edmonds there is no doubt we will reach that goal.

There have been all kinds of scarecrows, throughout the ages; they have been sad-looking figures, and figures that reflect images of customs and cultures, mythology, humor, and even superstitions. What will your scarecrow look like? Are you making a few sketches already?

There are six categories this year. Which one works for you?

Residential

Food/Beverage

Retail Business

Service Business

Financial/Insurance/Real Estate

Govt/Art/School/Civic Groups

Make your choice, and get busy, our scarecrows are all handmade and family friendly; it is time to rise to the challenge! Don’t forget Halloween is just around the corner, and scarecrows can be an important part of that night’s activities. These stuffed, straw characters will help set the stage for the Haunted Museum on that eventful Halloween night, Oct. 31.

The goal of the Edmonds Museum is for everyone have a good time in planning, carrying out, and viewing their entry, and everyone else’s imaginative creation. What a perfect time to stroll around town, with perhaps a short drive, here and there, to see all the entries. While there are prizes, with the community voting, in truth, everyone is a winner, as a good time will be had by all.

The prizes this year for the winners in each category are:
– a 2017 membership in the Edmonds Museum,
– a winner’s certificate,
– a gala reception in your honor,
– and bragging rights.

Voting is online, between Oct 23 and Nov. 4, and the winners will be announced at the Heritage Days Dinner, Nov. 5 and formally recognized at a gala reception at the Museum on Nov. 7. So get those dates on your calendar, too.

The Museum website’s Scarecrow Festival link is now live. Here people will find a wealth of information to include more about the categories, how to build scarecrows and pictures of past winners for inspiration.

An online story says that the a British wheat farmer, hoping to scare off pigeons ravaging his crop, built a scarecrow of Lady Gaga as she appeared on the 2010 Brit Award. Any musical characters you may have in mind…or any “character” at all?

Smile, laugh, roll your eyes or whatever, but join the fun and make this an Edmonds Kind of Festival. And just a note: It is unfortunate that scarecrows and snowmen have rather short lives, so it is up to us to create memorable figures, enjoy them while we can, and always keep the next “best idea” in the back of our minds, or on the drawing board, for next year.

A definitive history of the scarecrow has never been written; would that fall under your area of expertise? At the very least, the Edmonds Museum folks and many of our town folks would enjoy reading it, I am sure.

The Museum is located in Edmonds’ historic 1910 Carnegie Library at 118 Fifth Avenue North. It is open year-round between 1 and 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, but opens early on market days. Suggested donation in lieu of an admission fee is $5 for adults, and $2 for students.

— By Bette Bell