Hundreds of scarecrows take over Cambria for 15th annual fest. Here’s what’s new this year
Where can you see pirates, aliens, the tooth fairy and a 6-foot-long centipede?
Those are among the creative sculptures that can be found in Cambria and San Simeon this fall as part of the 15th Annual Cambria Scarecrow Festival.
Although the festival’s official start date is Sunday, scarecrows began showing up Thursday on North Coast sidewalks, business windows and roofs. The artworks will be on display through Oct. 31.
There will be an official “Salute to Scarecrows” event on Oct. 28.
Festival organizers estimate there will be more than 200 whimsical sculptures on display.
Other scarecrows may be added to the array in Cambria’s East and West villages, along Moonstone Beach Drive or the San Simeon business district.
Only those registered with the Cambria Scarecrow Festival nonprofit by the Sept. 15 deadline received official name tags and are included on the festival’s map of ‘crow locations, according to the festival website, which is where the map is available.
What’s on display at Cambria Scarecrow Festival?
Joseph and Taylor Hilden launched the Cambria Scarecrow Festival in 2009.
The free, month-long event has since become a popular draw for tourists and locals alive, attracting the attention of Women’s Day magazine and the Travel Channel among other media outlets.
Among the new scarecrow exhibits this year is a large display near the Bluebird Inn in Cambria, according to Paulla Ufferheide, chairwoman of the all-volunteer festival’s board.
“It’s an array of “out-of-this-world Cambrillian characters,” she explained. “Think ‘Star Wars’ cantina participants transplanted to the North Coast having a great time doing everything from playing pickleball to fishing.”
An homage to hit Netflix series “Wednesday,” which follows the title “Addams Family” character, is set up near Old Cambria Marketplace/Shell station on the north end of town, she said.
Disney movie “Encanto” is the inspiration behind a display in a large field near San Simeon Lodge and San Simeon Beach Bar and Grill.
This year, festival organizers offered a new woodland animals sculpture workshop that taught scarecrow makers how to invent critters, Ufferheide said.
Sculptures of frolicking, picnicking wildlife are now on display near Santa Rosa Catholic Church in Cambria.
Burton Drive in Cambria’s East Village is embellished with a Pirate’s Cove cast of characters.
Among the most notable 2023 entries, Ufferheide said, are “an adorable tooth fairy and a big tooth for a dentist in town, an over-the-top drag queen at a West Village real estate office in West Village and a centipede that’s 6 feet long and 4 feet wide at Pacific Premier Bank.”
A location map is available at the festival’s website.
People can vote for their favorite scarecrow and display by uploading individual QR codes or on the website.
Special events planned for anniversary
In celebration of the Scarecrow Festival’s 15th anniversary, there will be free screenings of Robin Smith’s documentary about the festival, “Something to Crow About” at 1 and 3 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in October at the Cambria Center for the Arts, 1350 Main St.
This year’s festive “Salute to Scarecrows” event, runs from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 28 at Cambria Nursery and Florist, 2801 Eton Road in Cambria.
There will be food, wine, live music, raffles and a costume contest with prizes.
The People’s Choice awards, one for individual sculptures and another for displays, will be announce, and prizes will be awarded.
Tickets cost $65 apiece, and can be purchased via cambriascarecrows.com/events.
