More than 1,000 people attended Saturday’s Scarecrow Festival at Beech Springs Farm Market Saturday, making it a record year.
“I think this is a festival people look forward to every year, where it’s just $5 a family, they can come out and enjoy. It’s an opportunity to have a great day and not be very expensive for families,” Darren Diguette said.
Diguette is the director of the Clark County Association for Handicapped Citizens, which oversees programs like STRIDE. Program participants spent the day at the festival, helping with games and meeting community members.
“They had a blast. What’s great for us is to watch their interaction with the general community. We always say they are part of the community,” Diguette said.
The festival also is an opportunity for community members to see what the STRIDE program is all about, and what their donations make possible, Diguette said.
“Getting to see where your money is going is very big,” Diguette said.
Thirty-six scarecrows were entered in the scarecrow contest.
Winners were: First place, elementary school, Strode Station Elementary; second place, elementary school, St. Agatha Academy; first place, middle school/high school, Clark County FFA; second place, middle school and high school, Clark County Alternative School; first place, family/business, A Time to Live; second place, family/business, Girl Scout Troop No. 680.
“This is not just something they will start the day before. This is something they start planning a month or two ahead of time,” Diguette said.
The winner of the scarecrow auction was Winchester Federal Bank’s “Wildcat.”
The event raised a total of about $3,500 for STRIDE, Diguette said.
“The overall quality of the scarecrows this year was fantastic,”¿Diguette said. “It was great to see so much participation from the elementary schools. I think all the elementary schools (in Clark County) were represented.”
