Vista Is Lending Out Scarecrow Skeletons. It Wants Them Back |
Pay the deposit. Borrow the bones. Build the personality. Just don’t reach for the staple gun. |
Alta Vista Botanical Gardens has a proposition.
Give them $10.
They’ll give you sticks, a head and stuffing.
What happens next is between you, your duct tape and whatever strange character has been living inside your imagination.
The Garden’s 18th Fall Fun Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1270 Vale Terrace Drive in Vista. Admission is free.
The festival is set to include children’s activities, arts-and-crafts vendors, the GrowGetters plant sale, the Garden Shop and a barbecue lunch sold by the Amigos de Vista Lions.
But the scarecrows get a head start.
Literally.
Borrow the Bones
Scarecrow Supply Day is Saturday, Oct. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Participants pay a $10 deposit and receive the basic ingredients of a future garden celebrity: a stick armature, a head and stuffing.
A limited selection of clothing and accessories will also be available.
Then the unfinished scarecrow goes home.
That is where the personality gets installed.
Participants provide their own clothes and construction supplies. The Garden suggests duct tape, wire, zip ties, yarn, scissors and permanent markers.
In other words, this is less “arts and crafts” and more “low-budget agricultural engineering.”
Bring the completed scarecrow back for display, and the Garden refunds $5 of the deposit. The final contest cost is therefore $5.
People who skip Supply Day may also bring a completed scarecrow during the official delivery period and register for $5.
The Staple Gun Stays Home
The rules are unusually specific.
Straw and newspaper must be packed inside bags before being used as stuffing. Loose straw and loose paper are prohibited.
Empty soda bottles are allowed.
Screws and staples are not.
There is a practical reason for the hardware ban: the Garden says it must take the scarecrows apart next August.
Previous contests have kept the creations on display into the following summer. That gives a homemade scarecrow a surprisingly long public career for something assembled from sticks and old clothing.
Some local politicians would envy the exposure.
Vista Has Done This Before
The build-at-home contest dates at least to 2020, when distancing requirements moved scarecrow construction away from the Garden.
That year produced 33 entries. A Fernando Tatis Jr.-themed scarecrow created by the South family won first place.
The contest grew to 40 entries in 2021. Soroptimist International of Vista took first place with an “I Love Lucy” creation.
This year’s scarecrows will receive numbered registration cards and be displayed along the fence surrounding the Garden’s Incredible Edibles area.
All entries are eligible for gift-card prizes.
The Garden’s current webpage contains conflicting judging and winner-announcement times, plus a few stale dates mixed into the 2026 information. Contestants should confirm the final delivery and judging schedule directly with the Garden.
The scarecrows may be stuffed. The schedule should not be.
Questions about the Fall Fun Festival
When is Vista’s Fall Fun Festival?
Where is the festival?
Is admission free?
When is Scarecrow Supply Day?
How much does the scarecrow contest cost?
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10 Comments
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Is the plant sale good? Never been, but thinking of swinging by and checking out GrowGetters while the kids build a scarecrow.
$10 deposit isn’t bad, but I might just bring my own scarecrow. Got a ton of old clothes to use up.
Love the I Love Lucy winner from 2021! Anyone else remember the Elvis one? Cracked me up driving past.
Checking those judging times twice now, sounds like the schedule is scarier than the scarecrows.
Kim L.No kidding, Kim! Last year I showed up early and still missed the first part. Definitely calling ahead this time.
Wish they’d let us use staples. Duct tape just doesn’t hold up once the rain comes.
We did this last year and my son’s scarecrow fell apart by March. Still worth the $5 for the laughs though.
I laughed at the part about politicians envying the scarecrows’ exposure. Guess they really are celebrities in Vista!
Stuffing a scarecrow with empty soda bottles? Never tried that before. Kids are going to love this.
Maria G.We used water bottles last year and it actually worked great! Plus way less mess than straw everywhere.