More than 100 Autumnal Creations Make Up Cranford Scarecrow Crawl

CRANFORD, NJ — In what has become a Cranford tradition, the downtown business district now includes a parade a scarecrows that help create an autumnal feel to what has been anything but an ordinary year.

This year, as part of the 13th annual Scarecrow Stroll, 104 entries were created by area residents, business owners, schools and organizations that will be on display in downtown Cranford until Nov. 1. Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Cranford Downtown Business and Economic Development officials felt like it was even more important to hold the annual event to give area residents and visitors an event to look forward to.

Cranford resident Carol Bertolotti's scarecrow creation, inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock thriller "The Birds" (and included in the tweet below) is among this year's entries. Bertolotti appreciates the event because it offers a safe, fun family-friendly environment for people to visit the downtown business district and support local merchants at a time when many small businesses are struggling because of the pandemic.

Ballots for voting for the best scarecrows are available at Eastman Plaza and at area businesses in the downtown district and may be returned to Eastman Plaza. Ballots are also available online and prizes are awarded for the best scarecrow created by a business, the best created by a school and the best created by someone from the general public. Ballots may be submitted by email at DMC@cranfordnj.org.

Officials from Downtown Business and Economic Development Association have placed numerous reminders around downtown for residents and visitors alike to wear masks and to maintain proper social distancing as a way to remain safe.

This article originally appeared on the Cranford Patch