The “Scarecrows on the Avenue” contest, hosted by the Central Avenue Business Improvement District, is under way, with a whopping 14 businesses contributing these friendly fellows to the fence in front of Hannaford Plaza.
According to our observations, this year’s scarecrows are more detailed than in past years; businesses brought extra props to help make their scarecrow really stand out, and some even created whole scenes for their scarecrows to live in.
The Central Avenue BID created it’s first ever scarecrow this year, just to get in on the fun. We modeled our scarecrows on “Team 10,” the staff members whose efforts keep the district looking pretty. The scarecrows are wearing the bright orange Central BID shirts with sunglasses, and watering flowers.
Here’s what we learned from our construction efforts:
- There’s a difference between straw and hay; only insiders know what it is.
- You cannot use rubber cement to stick a wig to a paper bag.
- Two-by-fours make everyone look skinny.
- Lawn bags are VERY durable.
- No one notices when a scarecrow isn’t wearing pants.
The scarecrows are set up at Hannaford Plaza at 900 Central Avenue in Albany. The plaza is part of Central Avenue’s busy shopping district, which sees close to 50,000 cars a day. Participants of the event include ArtPartners/Tsehaya & Company, Inc., The Orlo School of Hair Design and Cosmetology, Homeless and Travelers Aid Society, Level Up Studios, Fantastic Sams, Mercury Screen Printing, Capital CarShare, H&R Block, Honest Weight Food Co-op, St. Anne Institute, The Albany Free School, Berkshire Bank, and the New York State Independent Living Council.
