Scarecrows fill the streets of Ottawa with creativity at Ottawa Scarecrow Festival

The 35th annual Scarecrow Festival in Ottawa had more than 40 scarecrows on display Saturday, along with other fall activities from children’s games to a chili cook-off.

In the family/individual category: First place went to “Mr. Rogers” created by The Leslie Family; second place went to Nikki Leslie and Taylor Bangert’s “Oogie Boogie” scarecrow (complete with interactive Santa); third place was Karli Repak’s “Miss Piggy and Kermit” scarecrow with its representation of the two Muppets on a date night watching “Jaws.”

In the business category: first place went to the Times Newspaper for its Clark Kent/Superman scarecrow; second place to Midland States Bank for its joke-filled SpongeBob; and third place to A Mess of Things and Catseye Wine Bar for its “Nightmare Before Christmas” scarecrow.

In the non-profit category: First place went to the Community Food Basket of Ottawa scarecrow of The Swedish Chef; second place was awarded to The La Salle Putnam Educational Alliance of Special Education “Wonder” scarecrow; third place was given to the “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat” from the Salvation Army of Ottawa.

In the school-created scarecrows category: Waltham Elementary School’s eighth grade STEAM won first place with “Bank of Evil” from “Despicable Me”; Ms. Callahan/Mrs. Wrobleski’s fifth grade class at Central Intermediate School won second place for “The Invisible Boy!”; Shepherd Middle School won third place for “Baby Groot.”

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Eighth graders from Waltham School STEAM won a first place ribbon in the school-created scarecrow category with their "Bank of Evil" Minion scarecrow during the 35th annual Scarecrow Festival on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, in Ottawa. (Scott Anderson - sanderson@shawmedia.com)

To view a full gallery of the scarecrows, go to the Ottawa Scarecrow Festival’s Facebook page.