Scarecrow Festival displays artistic talents of Big Country students in Buffalo Gap
BUFFALO GAP – There wasn’t much wind Wednesday as Scott Clowdus and Holly Woodard began setting out scarecrows at the Buffalo Gap Historic Village.
Clowdus, who is the executive director, and Woodard, the education director, sprinkled the scarecrows around the village grounds, securing them to fence posts, lamp posts or anything else stable enough to anchor them. With Saturday being the 4th annual Scarecrow Festival, getting them out early gave Clowdus a chance to see how well they’ll do outside.
There are about 35 scarecrows on display, some displayed inside on a table while the full-sized pieces are what Woodard and Clowdus were setting up. Each was designed by area students and represents a given artist.
AISD high school, middle school and elementary campuses, as well as Jim Ned’s Buffalo Gap campus and Merkel ISD schools contributed to the display.
The styles of each reflect the artist being depicted. A Frida Kahlo representation featured a Dia de los Muertos theme, while Salvador Dali’s scarecrow was topped by the artist’s exaggerated pointy mustache and a poncho-like melting clock over his arms.
Still, some required an extra Zip Tie from Clowdus. He didn’t want Van Gogh to become Van Gone.
“Saturday is the free festival day, we will open at 10 and close around five-ish,” Clowdus said. “We'll have games, arts and crafts for the kids to do, a food truck and a caramel apple lady will be here.”
Visitors who can’t make it Saturday have until Wednesday to take in the scarecrows. At that point they’ll be taken down and brought to downtown Abilene and the Center for Contemporary Arts, who is also a partner, for Thursday’s ArtWalk.
The Buffalo Gap Historic Village is located at 133 William St., Buffalo Gap.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Art fans to flock to Buffalo Gap Historic Village Scarecrow Festival
