Whimsical scarecrows are coming to SLO County. Here’s what to expect
The Cambria Scarecrow Festival officially starts on Thursday, but the monthlong event will be different this year because of COVID-19 restrictions designed to stem the spread of the virus.
Because of those restrictions, the Cambria Scarecrow Festival (CSF) organization is only sponsoring five locations this year — four in Cambria and one in San Simeon. All are in large open areas to provide plenty of space for social distancing.
There won’t be any judging of the scarecrow creations at the 2020 festival, nor will there be any scarecrow-associated festivities or events. CSF also didn’t offer any workshops over the summer and fall, something the group has provided in the past to teach people the fine art of scarecrow building.
According to John Nixon, secretary of the CSF board, four of this year’s five official scarecrow groupings will include signs pointing to marked paths to encourage people to keep adequate space between their group and others. There’ll also be signage encouraging social distancing and the wearing of face coverings.
The fifth grouping, the smallest one of the five, is in front of Santa Rosa Catholic Church in Cambria. It doesn’t need a path, Nixon said, because it’s arranged so “you can walk in and around the scarecrows.”
He and his wife Mary were in charge of setting up several of the displays, which were installed during the waning days of September.
All the official exhibits were to be complete by Monday, Nixon said.
He said the purpose of consolidating the scarecrow panoramas was, in part, to help reduce some of the foot traffic on Cambria’s already crowded sidewalks. Some have been filled further with outdoor dining facilities for restaurants whose income is still being slashed by COVID-related closures and restrictions.
As CSF vice president/treasurer Dennis Frahmann said in a recent Facebook post, the five selected areas “are removed from the traffic of sidewalks and current street eating areas,” allowing for adequate space between each exhibit and supporting one-way walking for viewing.
Will North Coast businesses have scarecrows?
In years past, CSF has not only sponsored groupings of the wacky sculptures, but it also provided or rented some scarecrows to various businesses and other entities.
It was a rare North Coast shop, restaurant or business that didn’t have a scarecrow out front, in a window or otherwise visible from the street.
That’s not to say that local businesses and individuals won’t be mounting their own displays in 2020.
“You’ll still see scarecrows in front of various businesses, but probably not as many as in previous years,” Nixon said. That’s in part because some business owners don’t have the time or the experience to build their own sculptures and CSF isn’t in scarecrow-renting mode this year.
What will Cambria, San Simeon displays look like
Nixon described the displays.
“Cambria Strong,” located in Cambria’s East Village in the parking lot of the old Brambles building at 4005 Burton Drive, “will be about our town,” he said. It will represent some of the businesses and various activities we have in Cambria such as the Cambria Christmas Market, Cambria Art and Wine Festival and Pinedorado.
Fantasy by the Sea,” the Nixons’ display in Mid-Village, will be located in front of the Santa Rosa Catholic Church at 1174 Main St. in Cambria. It will be “a display of ocean fantasy, featuring fishermen, mermaids, and other whimsical sea creatures,” Nixon said.
“Fanciful Cambria Fair,” located at the Pinedorado grounds at 940 Main St. next to the Veterans Memorial Building, “will be about fantasy and include zany creations,” he said.
“Dia de los Muertos” is located in Cambria’s West Village, on the lot between the Old Cambria Marketplace/Shell Station and Once Upon a Tyme, 589 and 555 Main St., respectively. Nixon said it will feature “a very colorful Day of the Dead Fiesta.”
“Zombie Voting Rally” will once again be in the parking area of the San Simeon Beach Bar & Grill and Lodge, 9520 Castillo Drive near the northern intersection with Highway 1 in San Simeon. Nixon said, “This year the Zombies will be electing a mayor of Zombieville, so voting will be the theme — zombie style.”
Terri Pilot, who helped create that display, some of the finer details: “Maude, the bride, is running for mayor of Zombieville. … After being greeted by Harold, you will walk past Maude’s rally where you’ll find little Natalie alongside Maude handing out mini brains to attendees Jamie and Claudia.
“Then the path takes you to the graveyard where Agnes and Ronald are crawling out of their graves. Next, you’ll get to the ballot box guarded by a couple of skeletons. Vincent is voting watched by Freddie who’s holding a basket of brains. Finally, there are some wandering individuals proudly displaying their ‘I Voted’ tags. Flying hither and thither are ghosts holding VOTE banners. Throughout the display are signs encouraging the zombies to vote. Be sure to look for the subtle details we scarecrow makers add for fun.”
How do people feel about the new Scarecrow Festival?
Most people enjoy the festival, but some aren’t sure about it for this year, at least according to informal online surveys from The Cambrian.
The question was, “It’s almost Scarecrow Festival time again in Cambria and San Simeon. What are your thoughts about the 2020 Festival?”
The query, posted on several sites, received nearly 100 answers in 36 hours.
About 60% of those surveyed favored the 2020 festival while 40% did not.
Many on either side of the discussion mentioned their hope that visitors would wear face masks, observe other pandemic precautions and not leave trash on North Coast streets, shorelines, trails and parks.
Barbara Starr Phimister wrote that perhaps the chamber or other entity “could put up some signs around both towns, or at least drop off brochures at all the motels,” literature to be handed out to visitors encouraging them to not only wear masks and observe social distancing but also to “be respectful and mindful to take and throw their garbage away at their motel or home.”
Christen Ryan-Sanchez of Ojai said “I have always loved the scarecrows” and misses Cambria so much that she finds herself looking often at pictures of the town. However, she is unsure about visiting the festival this year, and doesn’t understand the value of grouping the scarecrows in five areas.
“We always just drove in the car to look at all the scarecrows in front of the businesses,” she said. “I would think grouping them together would encourage gathering.”
Geoff West of Cambria and Costa Mesa replied about the Scarecrow Festival, “Love it! Gives us one more reason to visit Cambria in October, when you typically have the best weather of the year. And, yes, encouraging tourists to Cambria — the lifeblood of the local economy — is a GREAT idea.”
According to the organizers, while the scarecrows themselves don’t have to observe social distancing rules, some of them will indeed be wearing masks.
