Staff
Fourteen amazing volunteers arrived on the run, built a scarecrow, and left in flurry on Saturday, September 17th, the first stop of Day Two of the 2nd Annual Our Kids Foundation Amazing Race organized by the Bruce Grey Child & Family Services Foundation.
The Amazing Race challengers reported to the Presqu’ile Rotary Camp on Friday afternoon, Day One, not knowing what might be in store for them over the weekend, not knowing where they were headed nor where they might end up come Sunday night, knowing only that they would be assigned several tasks, both mental and physical, and would be competing against each other for a first- and second-place finish.
First stop: Meaford, the Rotary Harbour Pavilion, where the materials and written instructions for building a scarecrow were set out for teams of two. When their scarecrow creation passed inspection, the challengers were handed directions to their next stop, and off they went, on the run.
Building a scarecrow is a long-standing tradition for Meaford residents. It’s not a science and can be a lot of fun, but there have been many valuable lessons learned over the years. Hundreds of volunteers have honed the technique over the past 20 years. Scarecrow Decorating Chairs Ruthann Noble and Candy Yeandle were able to assemble all of the components of a scarecrow into kits and write out step-by-step instructions for each of the seven teams. No further instructions were offered as the challengers fumbled their way and created their first-ever scarecrows.
“The Scarecrow Invasion and Family Festival is proud to have been part of the Bruce Grey Amazing Race and thanks the challengers for their scarecrows, all of which will join this year’s line-up of scarecrows during the 20th anniversary scarecrow invasion and festival celebrations,” said Scarecrow Invasion organizers.
The Amazing Race scarecrows will be assembled into a jug band vignette at the corner of Collingwood and Sykes Street.
Each team of challengers set personal fundraising goals. Last year’s challengers raise $31,000 for the Our Kids Bruce Grey Foundation, which assists children and families being served by Bruce Grey Child & Family Services, a local child welfare agency.
Follow the 2nd Annual Our Kids Foundation Amazing Race on Facebook or go to www.ourkidsamazingrace.com.
For photos of the Amazing Race scarecrows, go to www.scarecrowinvasion.ca.
