Scarecrows vie for votes as decades-long fall tradition continues in Ligonier
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“Halloweena the Ballerina“ strikes a demi-seconde pose in her purple-and-black tutu, with arms stretched out and downward as she greets people walking near Ligonier’s central Diamond intersection.
Creating her as a figure to enter in the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce’s annual scarecrow contest was a natural for the staff and students at Bridget Dawn’s Studio of Performing Arts in Ligonier.
“I’ve been wanting to make her forever,” owner Bridget Burkholder said of her studio’s entry in the popular fall competition. “But it’s a busy time of the year” between recital preparations and her students’ parade appearances during another of the town’s yearly October traditions, the just-completed Fort Ligonier Days festival.
Burkholder, of Ligonier Township, decided to enter the scarecrow contest for the first time this year, as part of the 20th anniversary for her business.
“We wanted to do something special to celebrate,” she said.
In its 31st year, the contest attracted that same number of entries this year — a typical number of scarecrows to display around the Diamond and portions of connecting streets.
The scarecrows were readied for public viewing by 5 p.m. Friday and will remain on display through the first week of November.
A panel of judges with arts backgrounds will award cash prizes to three top scarecrows.
The viewing public can vote for its top pick through Oct. 31, with the results determining a second set of three “community favorite” prizes.
A mix of businesses, organizations and individuals have prepared the scarecrows, which sport a variety of guises.
“I love to see their creativity,” said Amy Beitel, executive director of the chamber. “There are some who do it every year, but we also have some newbies.”
Burkholder designed her studio’s ballerina-styled scarecrow to be interactive. The figure’s head is outlined by a wood frame that kids can peer through while posing for a photo.
Preparing the contest entry was a group effort. Burkholder’s students painted small pumpkins to provide a backdrop for the scarecrow, and one of their parents provided a PVC form on which to build the figure. Burkholder’s mother and fellow township resident Grace Koontz, who is the studio’s seamstress, stitched a set of tiny lights onto the tutu.
“We did it as a team-bonding activity,” Burkholder said.
Creating a “Yin-Yang” pair of scarecrows for the contest similarly brought together a dozen students in grades six to eight who have joined ROX (Ruling Our Experiences), a new organization for girls at Ligonier Valley Middle School.
The local chapter of an Ohio-based group allows the girls to “talk about things they’re facing in middle school, trying to help them through tough situations that might arise,” said Sharon Greenawalt, an eighth grade reading workshop instructor who facilitates the group along with special education teacher Cassidy Patrick.
Sponsored by Donna Tidwell, a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway, and with some help from the school’s Technology Education Department, the scarecrow project “was our team-building activity,” Greenawalt said. “The students have worked very well together.”
ROX members wear T-shirts with a message promoting self-esteem that declares, in part: “I am strong, independent and courageous. I am not defined by others, by society or the media.”
The group has embodied that sentiment in its two female scarecrows.
Eighth grader Lila Smith, 13, explained the “Yin” figure, which is holding a teen-oriented magazine, “pretends to be dumb so boys like her,” while the “Yang” figure, which appears to be reading the final volume in “The Lord of The Rings” fantasy trilogy, “doesn’t really care how she looks.”
The Weeders and Seeders Garden Club, which tends public gardens in Ligonier Township, has conveyed its own message with the creation of its scarecrow entry.
True to its name, “The Lanternfly Stomper” scarecrow is posed as if ready to grind the heel of its curly toed shoe into a replica of a spotted lanternfly. That invasive insect from Asia can harm agricultural plants, including grapes and tree fruit, prompting a campaign by state officials to quarantine and eradicate the bugs. Residents are being urged to destroy the insect on sight along with its eggs.
Starting with an artificial Christmas tree, the garden club added items including a pointed hat, some “google” eyes and shoes augmented with duct tape.
“She’s made to look like a witch, and she’s got one of her legs raised to stomp on a lanternfly,” said member Judy Ridgway of Ligonier Township.
Stationed next to the scarecrow, the club has some flyers visitors can take to learn more about the insect.
The scarecrow attracted the attention of Mary Howard, who lives near Tulsa, Oklahoma. She snapped a photo of the figure when she stopped in Ligonier while exploring attractions in the Laurel Highlands region.
“We don’t have anything like this where I live, but it’s a great idea,” she said of the contest. “I’ll have to tell my garden club about it.”
Last year, the Weeders and Seeders were thrilled to take second place among the judged prizes, with a gourd-headed scarecrow “made out of everything from the garden,” Ridgway said.
Ridgway noted it’s hard to tell what elements will add up to a prize-winning scarecrow.
“They can be cute, they can be scary, they can be beautiful,” she said of the entries. “Every year, they’re different.”
Ballots to vote for a favorite scarecrow can be obtained at and returned to more than a dozen shops or restaurants in the Ligonier area. All ballots must be received in the chamber office in Ligonier’s Town Hall by 4:30 p.m. Oct. 31.
Visit the chamber website at ligonier.com for more information.