CRANFORD, NJ — If it’s beginning to look a little bit scarier along the downtown streets of Cranford this fall, just remember that it’s all in good fun.
The 15th annual Scarecrow Stroll officially started on Friday, Oct. 14, and it goes through Monday, Oct. 31, said Caren Demyen, director of the Downtown Management Corp., in an interview with Union County LocalSource on Thursday, Oct. 13. “The mayor started this because there’s such a love of Halloween in the community.”
Cranford has many big events throughout the year, but the Scarecrow Stroll is one of the biggest and most popular.
“The Scarecrow Stroll is truly a community event. The amazing, funny scarecrow creations are all made by residents, clubs, organizations and business owners. Since the Scarecrow Stroll was first organized in 2007, there have been more than 1,500 scarecrows.” said Cranford Mayor Kathleen Miller Prunty, the former director of Downtown Cranford, in an email to LocalSource. “After Hurricane Irene hit Cranford in 2011, weeks before the event, we thought it might be best to cancel, but parents asked that we go ahead. They told us their children needed something normal. It was one of our best events, with lots of ‘Irene’ scarecrows.”
The scarecrows in this year’s competition rank right up there with the best in the event’s 15-year history.
“This year, we have more than 120 scarecrows,” said Demyen. “They’re made by residents, schools and Girls Scouts. A lot of the businesses in town make them, too. It’s kind of a friendly competition.”
The categories are children ages 10 and younger, children 11 to 17 years old, adults and families 18 and older, schools and organizations, and Cranford businesses. Check-in was Thursday, Oct. 13, from 3 to 8 p.m. Those who enter received a nametag, pole assignment and zip ties to secure their scarecrow. Although registration is now closed, there will be plenty of time to wander the streets and enjoy the creativity of the scarecrows’ creators. There are ballots for voting for favorite scarecrows.
“There will be a ton of people walking around in the next couple of weeks,” said Demyen. One of the scarecrows, she added, “is a 10-foot Pink Panther.” On Friday, Oct. 14, there was a candy stroll and a showing of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show.’ On Monday, Oct. 17, there was Cereal Killer Dominoes and a giant domino run, with more than 500 boxes of cereal, with the fire department.
If it seems as if Cranford is really into Halloween, it is. Although many of the events — such as the Teal Pumpkin Project on Thursday, Oct. 13, and Creepie Crawlies with the Turtleback Zoo on Sunday, Oct. 16 — have already taken place, there are still exciting activities awaiting, such as “Back to the Future” Day on Friday, Oct. 21, and “Ghostbusters” Day on Saturday, Oct. 29.
“If you go to downtowncranford.org, there’s something literally every day,” Demyen said. “We’re really into Halloween. We take Halloween very seriously and invite people to come visit our stores and see what a great town we have. It’s nice to be back to a regular Halloween.”
Part of the success of such events is the involvement of the local government. “We work hand in hand with all the departments in our town.” she said.
“We work with our police department,” Demyen added. “They’re amazing.”
She also praised the involvement of the local businesses.
“Our businesses are so generous,” said Demyen. “Dracula’s Blood Drive is on Monday, Oct. 24. We’re teaming up with Garlic Rose Bistro, and they’re providing a big container of garlic dip. So anyone who donates blood gets a container of garlic dip.”
As far as the scarecrows go, prizes in the form of gift cards will be awarded for each of the five categories. All scarecrows must be taken down by Saturday, Nov. 5. Any that haven’t been taken down by that date will be removed and disposed of.
“We announce the winners of the Scarecrow Stroll on social media, usually the first week of November,” said Demyen. “The Cranford Jaycees are doing a Halloween parade on Sunday, Oct. 30. And they’re doing ‘Pumpkin Chunkin’.’ They have it on their website. It’s a great community.
“It was great to see so many people out and about in downtown Cranford visiting our local businesses and enjoying the scarecrows,” Demyen continued. “There’s still plenty of time to see the scarecrows. They will be out on display until Oct. 31.”
Photos by David VanDeventer