Vote through November 5 in The West Virginia Botanic Garden’s annual Scarecrow Spectacular.
Five or six years ago, Philip Smith, executive director of the West Virginia Botanic Garden, came to a realization: The WVBG enjoys a public visibility that many nonprofits don’t. “People come here and see what we do—they don’t do that with a food pantry in a warehouse or with someone that’s caring for disabled people,” he says.
That realization motivated the WVBG’s annual Scarecrow Spectacular, which invites nonprofits to enter a scarecrow competition on the grounds of the botanic garden. You can enjoy some autumnal artistry, vote for your favorite, and, incidentally, learn about some good organizations around town that you may not have heard of before.
18 scarecrows are putting in an appearance this year, up from 14 last year, Smith says, some from returning organizations and some new. Not to be left out of the fun, several scarecrows were made by teams of creative people from among the WVBG’s own staff.
Voting is easy. Each scarecrow has a sign that shows the scarecrow’s name, the name of the nonprofit that created it, and a little about the organization. Scan the QR code on the sign, and that will take you directly to the voting. One vote is counted per email address. Voting continues through November 5, and then the WVGB will tally the votes and award a plaque to the winner.
October is also a great time for a last-chance-of-the-season visit to Café Rosé at the Garden, open 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday through October 31 and for as long after that as the weather remains seasonable. Be sure to stop in at the gift shop, too, which has lots of great West Virginia and nature-related gifts for all ages and is open through the end of December.
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