UNION GROVE — For the people who are as smitten with fall as me, there's a downtown area in a Wisconsin village that has fully embraced the Halloween spirit.
Down Main Street in Union Grove, you'll see dozens of scarecrows lining the street. It's part of a new scarecrow decorating challenge the village started three years ago. In just those few years, the town has fully committed to the challenge.
“So we have the whole family kind of brainstorm like hey what should we do this year. We really want to keep it educational and keep that vibe of historical and some kind of meaning behind it," Angie Childers, the co-owner of Seven Seas Creative Space, said.
Childers and her family created an astronaut scarecrow in honor of Neil Armstrong. In previous years they made a Bob Ross and Where's Waldo scarecrow. Other displays around town include Scooby-Doo, a scary Halloween creature, a goofy cat, a Minion, and more.
“Anything that spurs on some kind of creativity we are all about it, and we were really excited to do it," Childers said.
There are more than 40 scarecrows throughout the village and surrounding area. Some are part of the official contest and others are rouge creations made by spirited citizens. The main rule of the challenge is for the display to be family-friendly. The overall goal of the competition is to embrace autumn, have fun, and boost the local economy.
“The camaraderie and the fact that people start walking down Main Street. They shop our shops. They eat at our restaurants, but it’s not just Main Street. We have scarecrows that show up all over town," Julie Hubbard, the executive director of the Greater Union Grove Chamber of Commerce said.
Watch the story to see more of the scarecrows...
Each scarecrow is numbered. Competition categories include funniest, best display, people’s choice, and more. You can get voting ballots at most of the stores downtown.
“ It gets the community involved. It gets the businesses involved. It gets people from outside the community to actually come and see all that we have to offer," Hubbard said.
The scarecrows aren't just bringing business downtown, they are also keeping the crows away. I didn't see one crow while reporting on this story.
You can see the scarecrows through the first week of November as the weather permits.
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