“We try to look for Scarecrow Contest themes that will click with a lot of people,” event organizer Dr Robert Borer told Saline Journal during a pre-announcement meeting at our East Michigan Avenue offices last month. [1]
Entries should be fun. I mean fun for the people who are making them — the process of making their scarecrows and seeing them displayed on the sidewalks of Saline.
Fun for the people who see them. Maybe just noticing them on their way to work. Local people. Or people who come from out of town, making a special trip to see them. Making repeated trips to see them. To vote for their favorites. Talking to other people about what they voted for and their reasons.
Not arguing; people don’t argue about scarecrows. But they notice all sorts of details and they have definite reasons for voting the way they do. Those are great conversations.
They bring people together.
With this in mind, Dr Borer engaged with previous contest participants in months following close of his 2018 Saline Scarecrow Contest. Many had been a part of it, others had not.
“I think those who got it really got it,” he observed. “And the people who saw those scarecrows absolutely loved them. Loved them.
But I think it might have felt like too much for some of the organizations who might have made scarecrows last year. People don’t have to follow the theme; they never do. Remember the staff at Saline Inn, who made those two great scarecrows that looked like their bosses? That was really creative and really well done — and that was a great entry right along with the ones that were on the theme.
As much as enjoyment and accessibility are hallmarks, it is also clear that Saline is more than just backdrop for the annual Saline Scarecrow Contest, now in its eighth consecutive year. Ultimately, Dr Borer would like to explore indelibly local features in future theme selections.
For example: Could the Bixby marionettes someday be honored through scarecrow designs that payed homage to them throughout the City of Saline during some future October contest? [2]
“That’s an interesting question,” Dr Rob Borer mused. “Would people make life-sized scarecrows, with strings to give the appearance of how puppets work?”
Or perhaps simply reflecting “Meredith Bixby” show themes.
In the meantime, Dr Borer believes he has found consensus among stakeholders behind a theme of finding inspiration in inspiration itself. Scarecrows based on characters who are heroes. For some, this will mean seriously heroic figures from history; for others, modern day and even those who serve with dedication sans fanfare.
The fantasy icons of popular superheroes may well serve as both content for some and a thread running throughout for all this year. As always, this is the time of year for those who’ll make Saline all the brighter and more attractive to begin thinking about their coming 2019 Scarecrow Contest creations.
References
- “Saline Scarecrow Contest” Borer Family Chiropractic.
- “A Brief Look Back On The Meredith Bixby Marionette Story, Part I: History Can’t Be Packed Away In A Single Box” Dell Deaton (September 20, 2018) Saline Journal.
