BERNARDSTON — Scarecrows of all types will fill Cushman Park this weekend.
And, a vintage car show will be the most noticeable addition to Scarecrow in the Park this year.
On Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the parking lots of Four Leaf Clover and Pioneer Valley Tire, across the street from Cushman Park, where the festival is held, will hold as many as 75 cars. Karen Stinchfield, one of the festival’s organizers, expects the car show to be popular based on responses on the festival’s Facebook page.
This year’s festival also has more craft vendors than in any previous year — totaling 63 — eight of which are nonprofit or school-based groups. The festival increasingly draws vendors from all over New England, not just Pioneer Valley, Stinchfield said, and for many of them, Scarecrow in the Park has become an annual showcase for their work.
The tractor parade will be Saturday at noon, and will feature the marching band from the Franklin County Technical School, as well as the Pioneer Valley Regional School’s middle school band in its first marching performance of the year.
For the scarecrow contest, registration is ongoing until the judges begin inspecting the scarecrows on Friday at noon. So far there are 21 entries, five of which are from classrooms, Stinchfield said.
Scarecrows will be judged for scariest, funniest, prettiest, most interest use of materials and most artistic, with a $100 prize for each category. Bear Country Radio will give its own prize for best “bearcrow.” The $10 registration fee enters a scarecrow in all six categories.