Fairgrounds hosting Scarecrow Fest on Saturday
File photo by Tom Rivers: Jennifer Slack of Medina makes a scarecrow with her children, Emma and Bradley, during last year’s Scarecrow Fest on oct. 11, 2025. The event is organized by the Medina Lions Club.
KNOWLESVILLE – The annual Scarecrow Fest sponsored by Medina Lions is truly an event for the entire family.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds will busy with boys and girls, moms and dads and even grandparents building scarecrows, romping in the straw or just enjoying a hot dog cooked by the Lions Club.
Event chairman Jim Hancock said the event has become so popular, families are coming from all over the county, and even Middleport.
He said the Fairgrounds on Route 31 is a perfect place for the event, which in early years was held in various locations around Medina, including the YMCA, the canal basin and Roberts Farm Market.
“Here, the event goes on, rain or shine,” Hancock said.
Many individuals are involved in making this event a success. It starts with Barden Homes, who donate the wood and cut the pieces for the bodies. Then the Lions get together and screw them together into a T. The cloth for the scarecrows’ faces is cut by Lions’ members, who then take them to Medina High School, where the art class paints the faces on them.
“They are really beautiful,” Hancock’s wife Barb said. “No two are alike.”
Clothing and accessories for the scarecrows are donated by the MAAC Thrift Shop. This includes shirts, blouses, hats, belts and pants.
Straw is donated by Ed Neal and Brian Dunham. Last year the Master Gardners offered pumpkin carving during the event, and plan to do it again this year. Cost is $12 per scarecrow. Parents and grandparents may charge their creation this year, with the availability to offer credit.
The Lions will also be selling hotdogs, chips, pop and water.
Hancock said many of the club members volunteer for the event.
“It’s one of the most fun things we do,” he said.
The Lions are also contemplating a contest, where someone well-known in the community will be selected and a prize offered for the person who makes a scarecrow looking most like that person.
