Scarecrows Going Up!

The first batch of scarecrows for this year’s “Stand Up to Stigma” Scarecrow Contest went up on October 1st. There is still plenty of time to submit your scarecrow creation! Individuals, organizations, and businesses are welcome to participate. The public is encouraged to vote for their favorite. Winners announced November 1st. Click the button below for information on how to enter.

Cucurbit Farm, at 32 Parker St. in Acton, is the generous host of the event. Farm stand employees hang up the initial group of scarecrows. Zip ties do the trick to connect the scarecrows to the metal display stakes that went in the ground the day before.

Pat Brewer, pictured here, was impressed by the mental health wellness themes included in the “Barbie” movie and decided she would lean on that for her scarecrow theme this year. At the end of the film, Ken wears a hoodie that says, “I am Kenough” — meshing his name with the word “enough.” Yes, each of us is certainly “enough.”

Thanks to the Acton-Boxborough Rotary Club for being a consistent participant in the scarecrow contest. Rotary volunteer Maureen Masciola drops off their entry for 2023. Our Central Middlesex president recently met with the AB Rotary club to tell them about NAMI programs and the new crisis support opportunities in the state.

Building a scarecrow is the most fun you can have with the contest, but voting for your favorite runs a close second. This is the only situation in our democracy where encouraging folks to “vote early and often” is perfectly legal and supportive of mental health initiatives.

“Flair Crow” by Sue LaChance is the first scarecrow to go up this year. Note the historic Cucurbit Farm barn in the background. There is a corn maze on site as well. Families love it.

The “Jack O ’Lantern Glow By” event closes out the month long celebration. As October wanes, donate $5 to NAMI Central Middlesex and select a Cucurbit pumpkin to carve at home. Bring your jack o ‘lantern back to the farm stand to display along the fence. The farm stand will light the row of pumpkins in the evening during the weekend prior to Halloween.