It couldn’t have been a worse or better day for the 6th annual Steveston Scarecrow Crawl competition on Wednesday — depending on how you look at things.
Under dreary skies, and the first big rain of the fall season, a judging panel determined it was Kelly Krull’s wooden Pinocchio scarecrow at Splash Toys that won the day amongst close to 50 storefront scarecrows that have lined the village’s streets this month, as part of a grassroots event aimed at promoting businesses.
Given the detailed work on her beach wood Pinocchio, it was evident Krull put a lot of effort into her winning scarecrow.
“I always get stressed out every year!” she exclaimed.
Over the summer, Krull was walking her dog at Garry Point Park when she spotted a unique log that looked like a neck (don’t ask her how she thought of that), which sparked her creative juices. Then, after a month of gathering the right pieces of wood along the shore, Krull spent a week assembling Pinocchio, a popular character from the Steveston-filmed television series Once Upon a Time. As a finishing touch she attached a dangling puppet (Emma) from Pinocchio’s fingers.
“It just all fell together,” said Krull.
Mindy Phipps, administrator for the Steveston Merchants Association, said the scarecrow crawl helps bring attention to the village during the low season.
“It’s a great way to get families out to the village during the cold and rainy season and it engages the community,” said Phipps.
This year was the first time a judging panel was used.
Judging the scarecrows were Ed Gavsie, executive director of Richmond Cares Richmond Gives, Pierre Pelletier, publisher of the Richmond News, and Michael Northey, a local actor who plays Friar Tuck featured in Once Upon a Time.
Sarah Gordon, marketing director of the Steveston Merchants Association, said the event has become increasingly popular.
“The quality has gone way up, people are taking this much more seriously,” said Gordon.
Placing second was Cosmic Cate, the scarecrow from Pieces gift shop, while 4Cats Arts Studio took third place.
