Winners of the ninth annual Scarecrows in the Park competition announced
Fort Myers, FL, Nov. 2, 2018 – The Lakes Park Enrichment Foundation and Lee County Parks & Recreation are pleased to announce the winners of the ninth annual Scarecrows in the Park competition, one of the featured attractions at the Lakes Park Fall Festival.
Judges for the VIP portion of the competition included NBC-2 morning anchor Rachel Pierce, Lee County Parks and Recreation Director Jesse Lavender, and the 2018 Officer of the Year from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Sylvester Smalls. The VIP Award winners this year are:
Best Youth Group Created Display: Canterbury School, “Cubby”
Best Business/Organization Created Display: Gladiolus Surgery Center, “Operation”
Best Halloween Theme: Pinewoods Elementary School, sponsored by Sabau Insurance, “Head Office”
People’s Choice voting ran from Oct. 12 through Oct. 25. Fall Festival attendees cast their votes by placing a chip in the bucket corresponding with their favorite Scarecrow display. This year’s People’s Choice winners are:
Best Overall Display: Riverside Realty/Staging Matters, “Dungeons and Dragons”
Most Creative: Canterbury School, “Cubby”
Best Business/Organization Created Display: CycleStation, “Debbie Downer”
Best Youth Group Created Display: Girl Scout Troop 746, sponsored by Home Team Inspection Services, “Sweet Nightmares”
Best Halloween Theme: Zoomers, “Zoomie the Zombie”
Forty Scarecrow entries were on display this year, double the amount in 2017, when the aftermath of Hurricane Irma created challenges for some schools and businesses to compete. The Lakes Park Enrichment Foundation has organized this event as part of the Lakes Park Fall Festival for nine years. More than 50,000 people attend the Fall Festival each year. The Festival also includes a pumpkin patch, hayrides, inflatables, and concessions presented by WheelFun, as well as the Halloween Express train ride, presented by the Southwest Florida Train Museum.
The Lakes Park Enrichment Foundation, a nonprofit organization, assists Lee County Parks and Recreation through philanthropic and voluntary efforts to enrich Lakes Regional Park and enhance the community’s enjoyment of this natural resource. Funds are raised through competition sponsorships as well as parking donations collected at the gate by volunteers from the Sunrise Rotary. Parking donation receipts feature a coupon for free mini-golf at Zoomers. Other in-kind and prize sponsors include Gabrielle Chocolates and Confections, Rib City, The Butterfly Estates, `Florida Weekly, Priority Marketing, Key West Express, Salty Sam’s, FastSigns and NBC-2/Waterman Broadcasting. The Foundation uses proceeds to present programming and make improvements at Lakes Regional Park.
2018 Scarecrows in the Park photo gallery – see all the displays! Click the first photo to flip through our photo gallery:
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