Autumn magic at the Town Green

At the Town Green on Saturday, autumn magic was in the air.
Dorothies, lions, and witches—both good and wicked—were
constructed by Cali Calmecac Language Academy classrooms and
propped next to trees. Rabbits and balanced budgets sprang from top
hats. A bouncy Tigger shimmied up a tree, while a race car driver
seemed poised to race down the sidewalk.
It was the annual scarecrow contest on the Town Green, and it
brought out creativity and ingenuity in boy scouts, girl scouts,
troop leaders, classrooms, parents, business owners and
employees.
“It’s really fun to decorate it,” Allison Kelly, a Brownie from
Troop 10324, said of her troop’s woodland fairy scarecrow. “It was
so much fun gluing the leaves on the wings… it took up a lot of our
Brownie time.”
“It took us eight or nine hours to get everything done,” troop
leader Michel Johnson noted. “It’s a good lesson for the girls:
it’s about sharing with the community, and being part of the
community.”
While some scarecrows focused on artistic expressions of the
season, others went for political statements. The Windsor school
board constructed a leering Arnold Schwarzenegger presiding over a
miniature capitol building filled with rats, and a big top hat
filled with I.O.U.s and dollar bills.
“Laughing at your trials makes ‘em easier to bear. We’re wishing
he could pull a magic balanced budget out of a hat so that the
schools can have all the money they need,” said board member
Heather Cullen.
“It’s a morbid sense of humor, I know,” she added.
Although their scarecrow highlighted the state’s financial
struggles, board members noted that they knew how to cut corners
and make the most of a limited budget: the Governator’s grey suit
cost only $1.50 at a thrift store.
Other political statements were less macabre. KC’s Downtown
Grill treated the scarecrow contest as an opportunity to honor
residents who had served their country.
“She’s a Navy WAVE,” Kathy Culley of KC’s Downtown Grill said of
her smartly dressed scarecrow decorated with two American
flags.
WAVES were “Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service.”
After a 23 year hiatus, women were once again allowed into the Navy
during World War II, starting in 1942.
“It’s a tribute to the veterans,” Culley said. “Every year, we
feed the veterans on Veterans Day, November 11. Thanking them for
their service is really near and dear to my heart.”
“She’s got your eyes,” noted KC’s staff member Tenner
Turrini.
“Oh! The wind’s picking up,” Culley interjected. “I’ve got to
make sure her hair is glued down good.”