Hay there: Owens FFA to enter downtown Georgetown scarecrow contest

By Raiden Barlow

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the FFA kickoff meeting began at Delaware Tech’s Owens Campus. There students ate hotdogs, met fellow members and, most importantly, built their scarecrow for the Georgetown Arts and Flowers Scarecrow Contest. 

Debby Quinn, chair of the Georgetown Arts and Flowers Scarecrow Contest, talked about how much she loved the scarecrows every year in her interview with Bay-to-Bay News in August. 

A student decorates the scarecrow | PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. DANIELE KIDD

“The contest is popular among the local town,” Quinn said. In fact, the contest last year had around two dozen businesses, organizations and government offices participating. 

The contesting scarecrows will be officially judged on Wednesday, Sept. 24 between 9 a.m. and noon. It will take place at Wilson Park, East Market Street and Railroad Avenue, as well as the circle at town hall. 

The contest has been going on for five years and local businesses have used it for advertising or government organizations to participate in the community. Because of their location, all the scarecrows are enjoyed by the public driving into town throughout the fall season. 

The nonprofit organization, Georgetown Arts and Flowers, supports the Arts and Flowers Scarecrow Contest. They help tend to multiple gardens at the Georgetown police station, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Delaware Tech and all around the Circle near town hall. 

The Georgetown Arts and Flowers sends a 3-foot by 4-foot t-frame to every participant as a base for their scarecrow, along with a plastic board to show the name of the group that created it. The only requirement for the scarecrows is that they must be able to withstand all weather, must not have any edible products on them, they cannot have any valuables and the scarecrows must be “family friendly” or they will be disqualified. 

It is a great way to showcase Delaware Technical Community College to all of Georgetown said Dr. Daniele Kidd, instructor and department chair for Applied Agriculture. That is not the only reason for Delaware Tech’s entry though. There are many more important facts about why this contest is significant to Delaware Tech’s students and staff. 

One of the primary reasons for entering the contest is for education.    

“The agriculture department of Delaware Tech is known for being hands on,” Kidd said. These physical activities, like putting a scarecrow together, are great for muscles and the mind. 

Another important factor for participating in the contest is to get students together. Delaware Tech takes group activities seriously because they are a great way to build connections with other students. To accomplish this, food is also served at the meeting. 

It is as much a way to bring all students together as it is to help the students in the agricultural department, despite it being primarily an agricultural department activity and not just for all students at Delaware Tech.  

Christel Folke, Instructor of Implied Agriculture, wanted the scarecrow in question to be representative of not just the school it came from but the department it came from as well. That is why the scarecrow will be designed to be a farmer or gardener in accordance with this standard. 

The nearly completed scarecrow that still needs a bandana. 

Along with the recognition that comes from winning the contest, the winner will have a poster made in the likeness of the winning scarecrow. There is also a reward for second and third place in the competition.