Chamber scarecrows start Wiscasset’s festival

SUSAN JOHNS
Sun, 10/10/2021 - 8:45am
Annaliese Hart of Houston, Texas and son Damian, 4, check out scarecrows Oct. 9 at a Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce contest that kicked off Wiscasset’s Scarecrowfest. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper
Garden Club of Wiscasset’s entry. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper
From left, Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce board member Monique McRae, Chamber Manager Pat Cloutier and Cloutier’s husband and WACC volunteer Russell Cloutier man the common where businesses and others were bringing their entries Oct. 9 for WACC’s scarecrow contest. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper
The Christopher and Alissa Hart family’s entry. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper
First National Bank’s entry. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper
Partners in Education’s entry. SUSAN JOHNS/Wiscasset Newspaper

    Hand in hand, and then with him, 4 and a day, in his mother’s arms, Annaliese Hart and son Damian were two of Scarecrowfest’s first visitors. They were checking out the scarecrows in Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce’s contest, on the edge of Wiscasset common Saturday.

    One of the five entries, all facing Route 1, was her parents’ Alissa and Christopher Hart’s. The Wiscasset couple’s daughter and grandson summer here and, due to the pandemic, have waited a little longer to head home to Houston, Texas, Annaliese explained next to Garden Club of Wiscasset’s tall green insect, sneakers on all its feet.

    Nearby, Chamber Manager Pat Cloutier, husband and WACC volunteer Russell, and WACC board member Monique McRae sat on the edge of the common’s stage where Salty Dogs performs from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14.

    Cloutier said she was pleased to get five entries this year, with shops short-staffed and busy with a tourist season that turned out “lucrative,” she added. People think of Maine and its expanse as a refuge, then they find there is much more to see, like the shops, she said.

    Scarecrowfest’s outdoor plans on and near the common – including a 3:30 p.m. movie, “Oz, the great and powerful,” part of the big day of scarecrow-building, face and pumpkin-painting, WACC’s scarecrow winners announcement, the chile-chowder-dessert cook-off, music with Wiscasset Fire Chief Rob Bickford, book and bake sales, storytelling at Wiscasset Public Library, and more, all Saturday, Oct. 16 – and the fact the activities tend not to attract thousands at once, will help people feel comfortable attending, Cloutier said.

    A scarecrow scavenger hunt, with clues on Wiscasset Parks and Recreation’s Facebook page, starts Wednesday, Oct. 13. Cornhole in the Wiscasset Middle High School lot, registration at 10: 30 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 17 supports WMHS Boosters. Find more on the festival at wiscassetrec.com

    Meanwhile, the scarecrow entries placed Oct. 9 remain on view. Cloutier noticed Route 1 travelers looking and some passengers also taking pictures.

    McRae and her First National Bank co-workers built their entry to look like the Loomis delivery service employee who comes to the bank. And he gave them the old hat to go with it, she added. “It was a team effort.”

     

     

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