Evie Winters, all of one and a half and a bit unsteady on her pink and white sneaker-clad feet, toddled up to the Pikachu Ghost. The iconic screaming yellow Pokémon figure was stuffed with hay and hanging from a fragile wood frame, and if the idea was to frighten anyone, it wasn’t working with Evie.
Pikachu is one of 50 entries in the Morris Arboretum’s 18th Scarecrow Walk. All the handcrafted scarecrows – Winnie the Pooh, Minions, the Cat in the Hat, K-Pop Demon Hunters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and so many more – are on display through Nov. 2. Entrants, including individuals, families and schools, are in the running for cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100 – and bragging rights, presumably – based on visitor votes for the top three.
Grandmom Betty Rozelle said she brought Evie to last year’s Scarecrow Walk, but this year, “she definitely appreciates it more. That’s why we’re back.”
Morris Arboretum Garden Educator and volunteer Sandy Klos of South Philadelphia, wandering up to a fairy-winged, straw-stuffed Tinkerbell, appreciated the scarecrows, too.
“The people who contribute them must have a lot of fun,” she said. “All of those Halloween buffs get to be on display.”
Those who volunteer to make scarecrows do indeed have fun, but there’s also a bit of a competitive streak, said Christopher Dorman, director of visitor experience at Morris.
Arboretum staffers brainstorm about the theme of the scarecrow walk long before the call for entries goes out in early September. “Every year we want a theme that is broad enough that there are a lot of options and a lot of things to choose from and stuff that’s fun,” he said. So the staff brainstormed and came up with cartoons. That was a generally loved idea.”
The arboretum provides volunteers with wood frames, donated by Tague Lumber, straw, some burlap and a bit of twine, Dorman said. What they create from those materials is up to their skilled hands and often fertile imaginations.
Though the scarecrows remain up through Nov. 2, voting takes place between Oct. 1 and 20, he said.
To see the scarecrows, you follow a well-marked path through the arboretum – which, of course, is the intention. “The scarecrows are everywhere,” Dorman said. “So, it gives people an incentive to walk around and see everything beside the scarecrows. They get to enjoy the nature part and the scarecrows on the same walk.”
It’s not just kids who get a kick out of the scarecrows, he added. “It’s really kids and adults. It’s cool that people in the community have put these together with their own hard work and creativity, and it’s great to see what they make.”
The Scarecrow Walk is free with paid entry. The arboretum is at 100 E. Northwestern Ave. in Chestnut Hill and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.
