Scarecrows at Peddler's Village Attract Visitors to Annual Fall Festival

By Catherine J. Barrier

For many people, as Labor Day comes to a close, it unofficially kicks off the fall season.  Pools close, swim suits are stored away, and sweaters and jackets are readied for the cool mornings that so often accompany the month of September.  Peoples’ thoughts turn to the fall harvest season as school and post-vacation work resume, and especially as the leaves on the trees start to exhibit their beautiful fall colors.  The harvest season approaches and bundles of dried corn stalks, pumpkins, and straw-stuffed decorations begin to appear displayed in front of homes and businesses.  The new season is ushered in, and once again it is time for the Annual Scarecrow Festival and Competition at Peddler’s Village.

For the past 31 years, Peddler’s Village has hosted this scarecrow event.  This year, the 32^nd Annual Scarecrow Competition and Display debuted on Labor Day and will run through Sunday, October 24.  More than 100 scarecrow creations—in six categories—are displayed outside, competing for over $5,000 in cash prizes.  The categories include The The Keystone Krow, Traditional/Whirligig Scarecrow, Kids Only! Scarecrow, An Extraordinary Contemporary Scarecrow, Group Scarecrow, and Quite the Character Scarecrow.  Visitors can vote for their favorites through September 24, and the winners will be announced by Saturday, October 2—and posted on the Peddler’s Village Web site.

These superb creations of American folk art can be seen and voted on at Peddler’s Village, located at routes 202 and 263 in Lahaska, Bucks County, during its 32^nd Annual Scarecrow Festival on Saturday, September 18, and Sunday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine.  The weekend’s activities are expected to be full of family fun and a number of them are free.  There will be numerous children’s activities, scarecrow-making workshops, pumpkin-pie-eating contests, pumpkin painting, and a variety of live entertainment.  Free parking is available.  For more information, see http://www.peddlersvillage.com/, or call (215) 794-4000.

“I think every year I’m just so amazed at the creativity and skill executed [by the people] coming up with these designs for the scarecrows,” said Eve Gelman of Peddler’s Village.  “[And] we have so many [scarecrow designers] interested in using recycled items in the creation of their scarecrows.”

“We have some really interesting scarecrows from Bucks County [this year],” said Gelman.  “One of the entrants in The Keystone Krow category, a category that focuses on a person, place, or thing historically connected to Pennsylvania in some way, is ‘Neil ArmSTRAW’, a scarecrow entered by  the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum in Warminster.”  The museum houses the largest human centrifuge ever built and is where Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts trained for their missions.  “There are new things I discover in our scarecrow competition each year,” said Gelman.

But the Scarecrow Festival is about more than just viewing these incredible pieces of creative art.  It will also feature numerous Scarecrow-Making Workshops on both Saturday and Sunday—at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.  These will teach participants how to create their own unique, life-sized scarecrows, which can be taken home and used as fall decoration.  There is a maximum of four people per scarecrow and a $25 fee for the scarecrow building materials.  For reservations, call (215) 794-4000.

A daily pumpkin-pie eating contest will be held both Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m., on the Main Green.  Only the names of six people from each of the three age groups—10 and under, 11 to 14, and 15 and over—will be pulled from hats to determine who will participate in these pie-eating contests.  Those interested should sign up at the Hospitality Booth on the Main Green by 2:45 p.m. each day.  “It’s a great tradition, so old-fashioned, but people love it!” said Gelman.

“Each year, students from Central Bucks volunteer to run the pumpkin-painting event,” said Gelman. “They bring lots of pumpkins, and no reservations are needed for the event, but people should come early.”  This event, which gives children and families the opportunity to create their own pumpkin creations, will be held on Sunday, September 19, at 11 a.m.  It will continue until all the pumpkins run out.  Paint and brushes will be available and pumpkins provided for a nominal fee, based on their weight.  “There’s always a lot of great community spirit involved in this event,” said Gelman.

“We’re excited to have the School of Rock, out of Doylestown, with us on Saturday from 12:30 to 2:30,” said Gelman, beginning to highlight the weekend’s live entertainment.  The other entertainment will include the “Give & Take Jugglers”, returning this year to be featured on Saturday, on the Main Green, from 3:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., and then on Sunday, guitarist Jim Rowland, in the Courtyard, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the “Blue Roots Bluegrass Band”, in the Gazebo, from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.  A strolling stilt walker will entertain on both Saturday and Sunday.

The School of Rock is a performance-based program for young people seven to 18 of all levels of ability.  Its curriculum focuses on classical rock and on teaching not only how to be musicians but also how to be rock stars.  http://www.schoolofrock.com/.

The “Give & Take Jugglers” offer not only impressive juggling, but also traditions from vaudeville, circus arts, and theater, as well as live music, an antique calliope (an instrument that sounds something like a hurdy gurdy), and comedy that is sure to please—and get the audience involved. http://www.jugglers.com/.

Jim Rowland has been delivering acoustic, meaningful, funny, and touching guitar-driven music in a rock setting around the Philadelphia area for a number of years.  He has performed and/or collaborated musically with the poet Allen Ginsberg, Pure Prairie League, Annie Haslam of Renaissance, and Bob Miles of the TV show “Miles of Music”.  He is also a songwriter lecturer for The Bob Miles School of Jazz, Blues, and Beyond. http://www.jimrowlandmusic.com/.

The “Blue Roots Bluegrass Band,” a high-energy ensemble of artists who have been playing traditional bluegrass for some 20 years, will offer a musical mix of blues, country, folk, and rock music.  http://www.blueroots.info/.

Peddler’s Village was founded 48 years ago by the late Earl Hart Jamison on only six acres of land, with only 14 shops and the Cock ‘n’ Bull Restaurant.  Inspired by the quaint village of Carmel, California while on a trip there, Jamison decided to begin his own colonial-style Peddler’s Village in 1962.  Over the years, the Village grew; winding brick pathways were added; and Jamison designed the lovely, award-winning gardens.  Today, well-known throughout Bucks County, Peddler’s Village sits on 42 acres, boasts 70 unique specialty shops, and offers fare in five different restaurants, accommodations in its 70-room Golden Plough Inn, year-round family fun at its Giggleberry Fair entertainment center, and year-round festivals and events.

“Lazy Crow”, a 2009 merchant’s entry for the Group Scarecrow category, is resting in his chair, content.  He’s been to the Peddler’s Village Scarecrow Festival and must have enjoyed it, for he appears relaxed and is smiling.  Come on out to this year’s Festival, enjoy the fun, and vote for your favorite scarecrow.  It is sure to put a smile on your face as well.

* Photos Courtesy of Peddler's Village

© 2010 by Catherine J. Barrier.  All rights reserved.