Don’t be surprised to find a lot of odd characters hanging around downtown Cranford this month, especially ones that appear to be extremely tall, somewhat squat or even vaguely resemble a celebrity.
These are the competitors in the town’s fourth-annual scarecrow contest. More than 100 hay-stuffed hopefuls will be strung up to lampposts throughout Cranford’s commercial district or on display at stores. With a growing number of local organizations, scout troops and school groups participating, the contest has gotten bigger each year, according to Kathleen Miller Prunty, director of Cranford’s Downtown Management Corp. (cranford.com/downtown), which sponsors the contest.
“It’s more than just fun. It’s something that makes people come to Cranford and move through the downtown, walking into stores and spending time here,” says Miller Prunty, who is always looking for ways to build foot traffic in this Union County town’s bustling shopping district.
Visitors get to vote for their favorite scarecrows, which will be on display from October 19 until Halloween. Voting will run from October 20 through 29—ballot boxes can be found in participating stores. Last year, 3,015 votes were cast for 132 scarecrows, a record for the state, according to Miller Prunty. Some notable entrants: Scary Poppins; the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland; Dorothy (without her Scarecrow) from The Wizard of Oz; Snooki from Jersey Shore; Julius Caesar; Sonny and Cher Crow; and Taylor Swift, which was subjected to physical alterations by the public and had to be removed early.
Taking first place last year in the residents’ category was “It’s Easy Being Green,” created by Cranford Girl Scout Troop 39. The recycle-crow featured a skirt made of juice pouches, water-bottle arms, CD ears and a head made from an empty computer monitor, which doubled as a receptacle for recyclables. The business winner was the Bogey Man, a 19th-century golfer with a huge pumpkin head and sheep-wool hair and beard created by Elaine Moffett, owner of Periwinkle’s Gifts.
Throughout the contest, the downtown was eerily free of crows.