DISCOVER Magazine

DISCOVER! | SEPTEMBER 9, 2017
Community | 11
KATE HARLOW | STAFF WRITER
Scarecrows on parade
Great Akron Scarecrow Festival on Saturday, Sept. 16
Fall is unofficially here with the
passing of Labor Day. While many
are sad about saying goodbye
to warm days, the freedom of summer
vacation and family barbeques, others
are saying a happy hello to the new
season.
Some of those people are the organizers
of the 17th annual Great Akron
Scarecrow Festival. The celebration is
set to take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
on Saturday, Sept. 16.
The festival will be held in Akron
City Park and is free to attend. It
will feature a scarecrow decorating
contest, homemade food and baked
goods, kids’ games, a petting zoo and
craft vendors.
The event is hosted and organized
by the Akron Friendship & Service
Club, which is a non-profit charitable
and service organization that is part
of the General Federation of Women’s
Clubs.
The theme for the festival this year
will once again be “Dive into Fall.”
“We chose it to highlight the Akron
community’s efforts to raise money
for renovations and improvements
of the city swimming pool. The city is
in the design and fundraising stages
of the project and we’re excited to
commit a portion of festival proceeds
toward it,” said LeAnne Philips, a
member of the Akron Friendship &
Service Club. “The city is also donating
a 2018 family season pass to the
scarecrow that best fits the ‘Dive into
Fall’ theme. We were able to donate
$2,000 toward the project in 2016 and
looking forward to contributing more
after this year’s event.”
Money is raised by tickets purchased
for the kids activities, food
sales, fees from the 40-plus vendors
and the auction of the scarecrows.
One of the biggest draws of the
event is the scarecrow decorating
contest and auction. Contestants of
all ages are encouraged to create and
decorate a scarecrow. They can be
any shape, size and fit any theme.
Those scarecrows will be judged and
awarded prizes in a number of categories
and age brackets. The scarecrow
auction will then take place at 2 p.m.
Typically there are around 50-75
scarecrows in the contest.
The whole day couldn’t run without
a large number of volunteers, according
to Philips.
“It takes 40 to 50 student volunteers
to keep all of the activities running
all day. Akron-Westfield FFA students
help set up and staff the petting zoo
(which will include a zebra and
camel this year), the Art Club does
face painting, and students from the
A-W dance team, National History
Day program and Johnson Juniors
4-H Club work at carnival games.”
Philips said. “It is fun to see the older
kids who have great memories of the
festival now coming to help.”
Last year, the Friendship & Service
Club was able to donate and support
projects in the school and communities
with the funds raised during the
event. In total, they donated more
than $10,000 to around 25 groups
and projects following the 2016 Great
Akron Scarecrow Festival.
In addition to allowing them to do
good things for the community, the
event itself, is a great way for the community
to celebrate the new season.
“For me, the best part is seeing the
park full of families enjoying the day
together. I love seeing the creative
scarecrows each year, especially this
year with new prize categories. There
are so many great vendors, too — so
many fall crafts, branded goods and
homemade goodies make it the perfect
way to kick off the fall season.”
Philips said. F
At a Glance:
WHAT: 17th Annual Great Akron
Scarecrow Festival
WHERE: Akron City Park, Akron
WHEN: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday,
Sept. 16
COST: Free to attend
ONLINE: www.akronscarecrowfestival.com
or Find them on Facebook
Akron | Iowa