Benton REA
The Cooperative Way
Scarecrow
Invasion
Crows flee
Prosser
during
annual
contest of
creativity
Damon Johnson, left,
and Rick James work on
the frame for the
Pizzazz! scarecrow.
Photos courtesy of
Pizzazz!
4
november 2013
By Victoria Walker
Grab your Aunt Mary’s old straw hat,
Grandpa’s worn overalls, your favorite
flannel shirt, the dog’s bandana—and you
have what you need to make a scarecrow
and enter it in the Prosser Scarecrow
Contest.
The contest is the brainchild of the
Historic Downtown Prosser Association
and one of the most successful events
in the area. The annual event ran
through October 30. Winners were to be
announced November 6.
“The scarecrow contest is a great event Candace Andrews puts together a scarecrow in the back of her store, Pizzazz!,
for the annual Prosser scarecrow contest.
in downtown Prosser,” says Rebecca
Howell, a Prosser resident. “I have never
seen an entire city become so involved in
it’s fun to see what the downtown businesses will
a project. It brings us together as a community and
come up with for their scarecrows. Some of them
are really creative and even have themes.
It’s really nice to see people come to
downtown just to see the contest entries.”
Some contestants make plans months
in advance. Businesses round up their
supplies anticipating the October 1 starting date. Traditional, themed or unique,
contestants work to make their scarecrow
the best in town.
Dan Smith, executive director of
Historic Downtown Prosser Association,
says the event brings people from
throughout the valley into downtown to
look at the unique creations made by the
community.
HDPA is a member of the Washington
state program called Main Street.
Prosser’s HDPA consists of four volunteer committees that form the nucleus
of the organization. They handle promotions, design, economic restructuring and
organization.
“The scarecrow contest is a terrific way
for Prosser businesses to showcase their
creativity, attract more shoppers and add some humor
to downtown,” says Candace
Andrews, owner of the
Prosser business, Pizzazz! “I
had a ton of fun turning the
wooden frame my husband
built into a 1950s shopper
with gourds, squash, lavender,
markers and a lot of bubblewrap. And I love seeing children and adults pose next to
Jazzabelle for a photo.”
The fall air in Prosser is
charged with anticipation of
who is going to win. Talk over
coffee in local restaurants and
meeting places is about who
will win. Friendly bantering ensues and side bets are
known to happen.
All of this is for the coveted
People’s Choice Award and
the Downtown Ambassador
award.
The People’s Choice award
is determined by the scarecrow that collects the most
Left, a scarecrow entry by Hobbs Lower Valley Hospice secondhand store welcomes passersby.
quarters in donation jars at
each scarecrow display. Ballot
Right, a more scary scarecrow of the werewolf variety hangs out in front of Becky’s Coffee Shop.
box stuffing is encouraged
and expected.
with nets. The farmers hid in their fields and scared
The more refined Downtown Ambassador—both
the quail into the nets for food. Greek farmers
first- and second-place awards—is decided by judges 2,500 years ago carved wooden figures to look like
selected by HDPA. The scarecrow entries are choPriapus, the son of the god Dionysus and the godsen based on how well they promote or represent
dess Aphrodite. Priapus lived with vineyard keepers,
Historic Downtown Prosser.
and it was said that he was very ugly. The vineyard
“The scarecrow contest is unique to Prosser,
keepers noticed when Priapus played in the vineand I am very proud of this,” says Dan. “We really
yards the birds stayed away from the grapes and the
own this event. People travel to Prosser to see our
harvest was the best ever.
scarecrows.”
As for the rules of the contest—there are none.
The contest may be unique, but scarecrows are
Occasionally, the contest is themed, but other than
part of a historical tradition, and not just in Prosser.
that, it is a free for all.
From earliest records, people have built scare“This is a great way to begin the holiday season
crows in their own images to protect their crops and and it brings our small community together,” says
gardens. The first scarecrows in recorded history
Rebecca.
were made along the Nile River to protect wheat
With fall in the air and crows circling the remainfields from flocks of quail. Egyptian farmers put
ing crops, Prosser waits to see who will win the
wooden frames in their fields and covered them
Scarecrow Contest of 2013. n
november 2013
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