Stephen Vance, Staff
The overcast skies and rainfall earlier in the day didn’t dampen the spirits of the organizers of the annual Scarecrow Invasion & Family Festival, who kept their fingers crossed as the big event approached.
They were rewarded with a chilly but rain-free evening for the parade along Sykes Street and the festival at the harbour.
This year’s parade featured a range of colourful and creative floats assembled by a long list of local community groups. One of the highlights for many was a two-year-old piper who marched alongside his fellow members of the Grey County Highlanders, melting hearts along the way.
As has become tradition, after the last float in the parade made its way through the downtown core, the thousands of spectators followed behind en route to the Rotary Harbour Pavilion for an evening of fun, games, and community spirit.
A popular component of the festival each year is the apple pie baking contest. The judges had their hands full, not to mention their mouths, as they tasted each of the pie entries in order to select the cream of the crop.
This year’s pie contest winners were:
Traditional category:
1st – Whitney Carbert
2nd – Pat Ellis
3rd – Gail Murray
Young Bakers:
1st – Jake Murray
2nd – Lindsay Kingston
3rd & Best Decorated- Kiawna Wheeler
The pies were auctioned off after the judges had made their decisions. Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Walker once again offered his auctioneering skills to the cause, and the winning pie made by Whitney Carbert, fetched $525. The first place Young Bakers pie by Jake Murray earned $170 at auction.
Also announced were the winners of the business decorating competition:
Indoor Display Winner
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Rice’s Home Hardware
Outdoor Display Winner
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Reg Noble Used Cars
Honorable Mention
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Scotia Bank
Window Display Winner
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Interior Moves
Honorable Mention
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Deans Carpet One Floor & Home
Best Of The Best – Winner “PATCHES”
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Interior Moves
With another Scarecrow Invasion & Family Festival in the books, the scarecrow displays will be on display until mid-October, when they will be taken down and put away for the winter as the Canada geese head south for the chilly months, but fear not, both will return next year.
