Scarecrows created by Community Living Huntsville add fall whimsy to Main Street

Main photo: (From left) Morgan Richter, manager of the Downtown Huntsville BIA, with Community Living Huntsville representatives Steve Speicher, Jay Dodds and his creation Freddy the scarecrow, and Julia Danks. (Dawn Huddlestone)

When Downtown Huntsville BIA manager Morgan Richter decided to reach out to community partners about adding some festive fall cheer to Main Street, she found eager participants at Community Living Huntsville.

“We wanted to decorate Main Street for the fall,” said Richter. “The BIA thought it was a good partnership because we are promoting downtown shopping with Community Living while providing a really fun activity.”

Community Living, which promotes inclusivity in North Muskoka and supports people with developmental disabilities, was excited to participate.

Thanks to their efforts, 10 scarecrows now adorn light standards along Main Street.

Jay Dodds (pictured above) created a pumpkin-headed, hay-stuffed scarecrow that he named “Freddy”, after the Freddy Krueger character in the A Nightmare Before Christmas movies. He said that building the scarecrow was fun, but took a while to do.

Vicky Newstead was reminded of The Wizard of Oz as she created her prisoner-themed scarecrow from a previous Halloween costume, one she once wore to a dance. She embellished it with hot-glued eyelashes and a tattooed shirt.

Vicky Newstead strikes a pose next to her scarecrow (Dawn Huddlestone)

Michael White created a papier mâché head for his scarecrow and painted it with a creepy face (Dawn Huddlestone)

Check out all of the scarecrows in person along Main Street, and be sure to watch for photos on the Community Living Huntsville Facebook page next week as part of a contest for the creators. Each of them will receive downtown dollars from the BIA for their creative efforts, and the person whose scarecrow gets the most likes on Facebook will receive additional downtown dollars as a prize.

Richter hopes to partner with Community Living Huntsville for a similar initiative leading up to Christmas.

Community Living Huntsville just finished celebrating Community Living Month, and October is the National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This year’s theme is ‘the power of inclusion’ and the organization is putting the word out that inclusive employment contributes to a vibrant, thriving community.

CLH will be holding its annual AGM virtually on Tuesday, October 13 at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome. To register, contact Samantha Caplan at [email protected] or 705-789-4543 ext 269.

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