Staff Report
The festival contest winners were announced and the “2020 Harvest Cup: Best in the Valley” title and trophy was handed over to this year’s contest winner, Solvang restaurant, Succulent Café, which will hold the trophy through the end of the 2021 Santa Ynez Valley Scarecrow Fest.
The 2020 Scarecrow Fest – the eighth annual Valley-wide competition – included the “SYV” communities of Buellton, Los Olivos, and the town that started the original Scarecrow Fest, Solvang. During the festival, visitors and SYV locals were encouraged to play, stay and enjoy the scarecrow sights and seasonal fall ambience which the Valley hosts at harvest-time.
The SYV Scarecrows, crafted by local businesses, organizations and individuals, were showcased across the Santa Ynez Valley in the three main communities mentioned above; the overall winning scarecrows from each of the three mentioned towns were eligible for the “2020 Harvest Cup: Best in the Valley” title and trophy, the winner of which was selected by an anonymous panel of Valley-wide judges.
Solvang’s 2020 “Popular Vote” winners were: Best Photo Opportunity, CASA of Santa Barbara County (Court Appointed Special Advocates); Best Use of Recycled Materials, Coast Plumbing Solutions; Best Use of Business Theme, Cailloux Cheese Shop; Most Danish, Viking Laser Design; Spookiest, The Giving Ink; Most Humorous, Solvang Senior Center. In addition to the six category winners determined by public voting, anonymous judges awarded a “Best Scarecrow” title to an overall City of Solvang winner, Succulent Café, which went on to compete for and win the “2020 Harvest Cup”.
In the “country wine” village of Los Olivos, visitors and residents voted on their favorite scarecrows with winners in the following categories: Best Los Olivos Scarecrow, Ca’ Del Grevino; Most Humorous, Avec Moi Décor; Spookiest, Alexander & Wayne / Arthur Earl; Best Business Theme, Ca’ Del Grevino; Best Natural Materials, Grimm’s Bluff Wines. The overall Los Olivos scarecrow winner – Ca’ Del Grevino – represented the town in the quest for the “2020 Harvest Cup” trophy.
The Buellton Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau sponsored this year’s annual Buellton Scarecrow Fest. Buellton’s scarecrows were judged by locals, tourists and merchants, as well as a panel of judges, with winners in the following categories: Flying Flags RV Resort & Campground, Best Use of Natural Materials; Alma Rosa Winery, Most Humorous; OstrichLand USA, Best Use of Business Theme; and Sideways Lounge, Spookiest. Buellton’s “Best Scarecrow” winner, Hitching Post 2, represented the City in the Valley-wide contest.
More information about each year’s Santa Ynez Valley Scarecrow Fest will be available at www.syvscarecrows.com as well as on Facebook and Instagram at facebook.com/SYVScarecrowFest and @SYVscarecrows.
