Stevensville Scarecrows ‘Scare’ Up Lots of Votes

The scarecrows in this year's Stevensville Scarecrow Festival invaded the downtown Main Street. There were about 16 scarecrows on the walking path north of town, but about two-thirds of the entries were scattered throughout the business district - in front of and above the Main Street shops. There were 45 entries, again showing lots of imagination. The winners were announced Monday morning by the Stevensville Main Street Association.

Main Street Association Director Lorraine Roach said there were over 6,000 people viewing the scarecrows this past weekend. The People's Choice Winner and Artistic Merit winner was "Miss Autumn" from Starrett Artists and Mission Bistro. It's at the "pocket park" on Main and was formed by all natural materials (see photo below). Second Place was the Lone Rock School PTM with "Ring for the Rock," and Third went to the watery channel of molars from Barry Yaskus Family Dental Care - "Scary Barry's Root Canal" (See photo above).

The other Artistic Merit winner was "Rust Chick," a metal creation from Laura Jean Welding LLC. There were other awards, too. Artistic Merit honorable mentions went to the sideways creation at Third and Main - "Blown Away" by Exit Realty, "Anxious Andy" by Western Montana Mental Health, "Working Our Fingers to the Bone" - a skeletal display ABOVE A2Z Personnel, "May the Books Be With You" - A Darth Vader and son display at the North Valley Public Library, "Lady Ravalli" by Headwaters Wellness Center, and one of our favorite humorous entries - "Farmin' Miranda" by Beverly Gibson (see Photo below). The creations are on display for another week. Go take a look!

Sponsors this year were The Country Store, Bitterroot Star, InWrapt, Western Building Center, The Messy Apron Commercial Rental Kitchens, Super 1 Foods, Tiffany Photography, Weber and Vanorio CPAs, Fort Owen Ranch and the Stevensville Main Street Association.