It’s a Halloween tradition in its 15th year, and it’s more popular than ever. The Cambria Scarecrow Festival thrives each year, but without the dedication and hundreds of volunteer hours, it wouldn’t be what it is today.
It’s almost sweater weather, and before we know it, Halloween will be here, but for the Cambria Scarecrow Festival and their “crow creators,” it’s been Halloween all summer long.
Awkward, admirable aliens and preposterous possums, to Wednesday – no, not the day of the week, the Netflix show based on the Addams Family – the crow creators always have their work cut out for them.
“The scarecrow I did this year, it’s Paul Stanley of KISS. I estimate it took me over 100 hours to finish it,” said Kim Miller, the social media coordinator and a board member for the festival.
Fifteen years and hundreds of scarecrows later, this community-minded organization is led by a gigantic group of volunteers and driven by creativity and innovation. Building these scarecrows is no small task.
“I'm the Dr. Crow coordinator,” said Terri Pilot, who runs the Dr. Crow program and a “crow creator” herself.
Pilot facilitates everything “crow”-related. The scarecrows you’ll see this year, like the display in San Simeon dedicated to the Disney movie, Encanto, are likely recycled from past years.
“A lot of the bodies on these scarecrows throughout town were different scarecrows last year, and we make them into new characters,” said Pilot. “It really is a lot of fun. This is the best volunteer job you could ever have. We laugh. Nobody's mean. Everybody’s friendly. It’s just a great atmosphere.”
Hours upon hours of artistic authenticity are quantified with scarecrows like these ambiguous aliens, but they also offer an enormous economic boost for the village of about 5,500 people. The festival has made Cambria a destination in the month of October, a vision festival organizers had at its inception 15 years ago.
“It was all to keep our town healthy and to bring tourism in that month. It was so slow,” said Paulla Ufferheide, the president of the Cambria Scarecrow Festival. “It's worked really well, yes. Now, most hotels and merchants will tell you that October's their best month of the year.”
Great for the economy, but possibly even better for mental health.
“Adult play, it can help them with problem solving and keeping your brain sharp,” said Ufferheide. “After COVID, these retired people were really looking for ways to get out and do something that's constructive, and they can look at (the scarecrows) in October and go, ‘I did that. I did that, and it looks pretty good.’”
Creativity is contagious. More and more scarecrows are assembled each year by the volunteers. About 175 scarecrows constructed by the festival are scattered throughout the village, over 60 more than last year. Each one upright and unique, and in their own right, worth the trip up Highway One to the quiet and quaint coastal community.
Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in October, a documentary on the Cambria Scarecrow Festival will be playing at the Cambria Center for the Arts at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. It was produced by a local filmmaker after she followed the entire festival’s process from start to finish in 2022.
The festival is hosting the Salute to Scarecrows fundraiser on Saturday, October 28th from 6-8 p.m.
Click here to find out more about the festival. You can also find a map of all the scarecrows by clicking here.
The festival is open through the end of October.
