An increasingly popular local festival returns this year as Scarecrows on the Plaza, bringing the Healdsburg community together to support the arts and Healdsburg youth at Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin.
The fifth annual event invites businesses, community groups, schools, clubs and individuals to create a festive scarecrow to be displayed in downtown Healdsburg and then auctioned to bidders. All proceeds from registration and the auction will benefit local youth through the programming and initiatives of Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin.
“We’re thrilled to present this year’s Scarecrows on the Plaza and bring everyone together to support Healdsburg youth,” said the clubs’ chief executive officer, Jennifer Weiss. “It’s a wonderful chance for our community to showcase their creativity while making a positive impact on the lives of children.”
Originally launched during the pandemic, when everything was pretty scary, this event has become a new tradition that fosters connection and joy within the Healdsburg community while supporting a local nonprofit.
The first such event, held in 2019, was organized by Christina Stafford and others who wanted something other than a run-of-the-mill fundraiser—something that would combine farming, harvest and Halloween. So a “make your own” scarecrow contest seemed like the perfect event.
“We decided to call it ‘Out-standing in Your Field’ and thought it was a really original idea until we found out that people all over the world have scarecrow festivals,” Stafford said with a laugh at the time. Among them was Windsor, which is entering its 16th year of scarecrow festivals this month.
Stafford has since closed her eponymous plaza gallery and moved to New York, but the tradition continues to grow. Once known as Scarecrow Fest, responsibility for the seasonal event was taken over by the Boys & Girls club when Stafford left town.
“For the second year in a row, Boys & Girls Club of Sonoma-Marin has stepped up for our community by sponsoring this annual event,” said Marcy Frank, a member of the city’s Creative Leadership Team, soon to be part of the new Arts & Culture Commission structure.
“Scarecrows on the Plaza allows our residents and businesses to showcase their creativity, and I always look forward to seeing the wide array of talent on display around the Plaza each year,” Frank continued. “We’re thankful to Boys & Girls Clubs for this.”
With a rich history spanning over 75 years, the Boys & Girls Clubhouse in Healdsburg has positively impacted thousands of local youths. The organization serves nearly 10,000 youth annually in Cloverdale, Geyserville, Healdsburg, Guerneville, Monte Rio, Windsor, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Petaluma and Novato.
In Healdsburg the Club is located at 555 Piper St., where it is set to undergo renovations to enhance its facilities for area youngsters.
All registered scarecrows will be displayed throughout downtown Healdsburg, allowing the community to enjoy and bid on them. Bidding opens on Oct. 4 and closes on Oct. 20. A map of the scarecrow locations and sponsors, and the opportunity to bid, is available at bgcsonoma-marin.org/scarecrow.
