Scarecrow season at Shangri La

It’s beginning to look, and feel, a lot like fall. Each October, Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in nearby Orange hosts the largest Scarecrow Festival in Texas with dozens of hand-crafted scarecrow exhibits displayed throughout the gardens. Created by talented folks from community organizations, businesses, schools, churches and families, scarecrow designs range from funny to clever to wacky and weird. For sure, no two scarecrows are ever the same.

Their annual Scarecrow Festival, now in its 12th year, is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 11 through Saturday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Southeast Texas community is invited to enjoy the unique scarecrow contest exhibits, fall flowering displays, thousands of pumpkins, and autumn decorations displayed throughout Shangri La Gardens. Admission is free.

Scarecrows date back to the Egyptians who used them to protect their wheat fields located on the Nile River from quail. Their version consisted of wooden frames with nets. The Romans also used a scarecrow to imitate soldiers. Japanese farmers started making their version of the scarecrow shaped like people, dressed in raincoats and straw hats, to help protect their rice fields. German farmers began to transform the scarecrow into more “human looking” dressed in clothes accessorized with a vintage red handkerchief around its neck and were later called bootzamon or bogeyman.

“The Scarecrow Festival is a great way to celebrate the changing season and see what talented members of the community can create with repurposed and recycled materials as well as a heap of imagination,” said Amara Townsend, Volunteer Services Coordinator at Shangri La.

“Scarecrow exhibits are always innovative, inspiring, and kind to their world. As always, Shangri La Garden’s theme focuses on ‘environmentally friendly’ scarecrows.”

Townsend said there will be 70 scarecrow entries this year and visitors can also vote for their favorite scarecrows online at shangrilagardens.org.

“We’ll have nearly 5,000 pumpkin varieties throughout the gardens,” added Townsend. “Fall color will include crotons, marigolds, millet and ornamental peppers.”

Don’t forget that Autumn Fair is the last day of the Scarecrow Festival – Saturday, Nov. 5, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Not only will it be the last day to see the scarecrows, it’s also a day filled with plenty of activities such as a hay ride and pumpkin decorating. Kids may take their decorated pumpkins home to display. Admission is free.

Located at 2111 W. Park Ave. in Orange, Shangri La Gardens is open Tuesday-Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Since the publication of the book “Lost Horizon” in 1933, the term “Shangri La” has represented a place of beauty, peace and enlightenment. In Orange, a modern Shangri La has been recreated with the best of both nature and gardens. Nestled within 252 Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center is a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, a private foundation whose mission is to improve and enrich the quality of life in Southeast Texas and encourage and assist education. The unique ecosystem of Shangri La presents an ideal opportunity to further that mission as well as carry on the vision of H.J Lutcher Stark, the man who originally developed it more than 60 years ago.

As one of the most earth-friendly projects in the world, Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center offers a glimpse of how people can live in harmony with nature.

For more information, call (409) 670-9113 or view shangrilagardens.org.

-Chad Cooper, Entertainment Editor