No Place Like Home: Cambria's Scarecrow & Harvest Festival

Posted: Sep 29, 2011 4:59 PM by Jeanette Trompeter, KSBY News (BT)
Updated: Oct 7, 2011 11:59 AM

The community of Cambria is growing by a few hundred this week. Not tourists exactly, but passers through. If you make a pass through town, you'll find what I'm talking about, and more proof there's no place like home.

They are fall visitors in communities all across the country, but come harvest time in Cambria, you don't just see them out in fields hanging around. They're intricate scarecrows, just making themselves comfortable all over town.

They are diverse and eclectic group. Some resembling the characters from Harry Potter, others meant to look like a senior citizen walking down the street. They seem to have embraced the artistic atmosphere in Cambria, and in the process they've given passers-by another reason to make a stop in this seaside community.

There are a few dozen scarecrows out right now, but some sunset on Saturday there will be nearly 200 of them.

They first started showing up two years ago as part of a fundraiser for the historical museum. But they must have enjoyed the attention they captured because they returned last year, and they brought friends.

"We had about 30 the first year," said Sue Robinson, chairperson of the Scarecrow Festival. "Last year it improved to be about 100, and we decided to put them up and down Main Street to help some of the businesses. This year, we should have close to 200."

From Moonstone Drive to Main Street, they're everywhere. They've proved to be a great way to attract visitors just when tourist season typically dies down.

They're now a part of a celebration of harvest season in Cambria. They'll be the stars of the weekend festival in a little more than a week. But they'll be sticking around the entire month of October.

"Everybody's getting into it, and everybody's having fun. You know, bad economic times, a lot of bad news out there and here's this group that's having a ball!" said Robinson.

You can start choosing your favorites this weekend for the People's Choice Award. Your vote will cost you a buck but it goes to a good cause, and it's all in good fun. You can buy the ballots at the museum from now until the festival. Winners will be announced at the festival on October 8th.

For more information on the scarecrows and the Harvest Festival, click here.