The region's annual Scarecrow Fest kicks off Oct. 1, turning Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang into a month-long open-air gallery of homemade harvest art.
Six Towns, One Contest
The Scarecrow Fest is an annual scarecrow-building competition spread across the Santa Ynez Valley's six picturesque towns, according to NBC Los Angeles. Local businesses and organizations throughout the valley are invited to participate by building a scarecrow of their own creation and setting it up in front of their location, as reported by Santa Maria Times. The festival runs Oct. 1 through Oct. 31 across all six participating communities, according to the event's official site.
Registration for this year's contest closed Sept. 25, according to the event's official site, syvscarecrows.com. Residents and visitors are invited to vote on their favorite creations throughout the month, the site notes, with the contest kicking off on Oct. 1. Online ballots can be cast at syvscarecrows.com/vote, the Santa Maria Times reports, and NBC Los Angeles adds that visitors can also vote by phone at participating scarecrow sites.
Chasing the Harvest Cup
One community among the six participating townships will walk away with bragging rights this year in the form of the Harvest Cup, according to the Santa Ynez Valley Foundation. The annual Harvest Cup is awarded to just one town out of the six, per the event's own website, making the scarecrow-lined sidewalks in Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Santa Ynez and Solvang effectively a friendly interstate — well, inter-town — rivalry. NBC Los Angeles reports that scarecrow-displaying locations across the valley compete for that title every year.
There are rules to keep things fair and safe. Contest guidelines require scarecrows to contain straw stuffing and prohibit displays from obstructing pedestrian traffic, according to the event's official rules. Ballot stuffing, unsurprisingly, is banned outright. Merchants aren't required to leave their creations out overnight, either — the rules allow scarecrows to be kept indoors when a store closes, and NBC Los Angeles notes some entries may be moved inside after dark.
From a Solvang Side Street to a Six-Town Tradition
The tradition traces back to 2010, when Sue Moualim and Susan Williams first developed the idea for a Solvang harvest celebration, according to the fest's own history page. That inaugural event drew 60 participating businesses by October 2010. Growth came fast: more than 80 businesses and over 600 voter ballots joined in by 2011, and by 2012 that number had climbed past 100 businesses with more than 1,200 ballots submitted, prompting organizers to expand the judging categories and bring in a formal panel.
What started as Solvang's Third Wednesday Scarecrow Fest eventually spread across the valley's towns, according to syvscarecrows.com, growing into the multi-town event now marking its 16th anniversary, as NBC Los Angeles reports. The valley itself is often described as home to six picturesque towns, each with its own take on Halloween-season charm — and for one month each fall, each with its own army of straw-filled competitors lining Main Street.
