Two big merchant events this month
Old Town’s Scarecrow Days expands

       The ninth annual Scarecrow Days will be partly the same, partly bigger and a whole lot brand new this year in Old Colorado City.
       The new activities are a sidewalk art competition, an art gallery walk, a “giant pumpkin” weigh-off and a children's coloring contest.
       “We're expanding it, doing a little bit more this year,” said Nancy Stovall, president of the Old Colorado City Associates (OCCA) merchants group, which is sponsoring the two-week event from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1. “September to early October is such a beautiful time of year. It's kind of an end of a busy summer, but we can take advantage of the weather and draw more people to Old Colorado City.”
       Added Lynda Dunne of Colorado Main Events, who is organizing Scarecrow Days for OCCA, “Our plan is for a European marketplace feel, with entertainment up and down the avenue, fresh flowers for sale and real 'up' kind of environment.”
       A returning attraction for OCCA's promotional event will be local business people's scarecrow creations outside their shops, with celebrity judging of them starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 17. Visitors to Old Colorado City will also get to vote for their favorite scarecrows, with each voter becoming eligible for a prize, Dunne said.
       Bigger this year will be the second annual “Taste of Old Colorado City,” in which people can sample the food from 13 restaurants in the historic shopping district for five hours Saturday, Sept. 24, she said. Proceeds will benefit the Old Colorado City Carnegie Library and the History Center. Cost is $12 a person, $20 for a couple and $5 for children under 12.
       Here is more information on the four new events:
       Art on the Avenue - Up to 15 area artists, using soft pastel chalk, will be painting on the pavement in the 25th Street/ Colorado Avenue parking lot the weekend of Sept. 24-25. The activity is in the tradition of “artistic expression throughout Europe since the 16th century,” Dunne said.
       The Best of Show winner will get a $150 prize, with prizes in other categories as well. In addition, the public is welcome to help color in a “paint by numbers” work by a master artist that Dunne said will be a surprise.
       Gallery Walks - This is a tour of 14 participating Old Colorado City art galleries. An incentive to see them all is that visitors getting their card punched at each one is eligible to enter a drawing for a $200 certificate at whatever gallery they like.
       Pumpkin weighing - Old Colorado City has successfully applied for recognition as the regional location for the “Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off” Saturday, Oct. 1. The actual weighing will be from noon to 1 p.m., but massive pumpkins are expected to be arriving throughout the morning from states in the region, which encompasses Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and New Mexico, Dunne said. This will be the first year of the event, which the OCCA hopes will become annual.
       Coloring contest - Young children up to age 10 will be eligible for this contest. Ages 2-5, 6-8, 9-10. Entries are available at participating Old Colorado City stores, with the deadline for submissions Sept. 30.
       The scarecrows will be on display in Old Colorado City throughout Scarecrow Days, with some likely to remain out through Halloween.

Westside Pioneer article from a press release