Akron Scarecrow Festival brings in $10,000 to support the Akron community

AKRON, Iowa - Fall is in full swing around Siouxland, and for over two decades, one Iowa community has celebrated with lots and lots of scarecrows.

The Akron Scarecrow Festival has been a fixture in the Siouxland community since 2000 when it was first put on by the Akron Friendship and Service Club. Every year people come from all around to enjoy the fun and fall-themed festivities.

“We were just traveling around one day and we saw this scarecrow festival and there were so many people, I couldn’t believe it. And so I said you know what, Akron could do that,” said Sue Higman, a member of the Friendship and Service Club. “I came back with the idea and our club started it.”

And what scarecrow festival would be complete without a build-your-own scarecrow contest? This year saw the most entries in the contest to date, with KTIV’s own Jacob Howard as a judge.

The winning scarecrow picked by the judge was “Clara the Practical Yolker”.

After the winner was announced, the scarecrows were auctioned off, with the money going right back into the Akron community.

“We raise a lot of money from the auction, we auction off all of our scarecrows and then our club makes quite a bit of money from it but it all goes back into the community,” said Higman.

“Everything that we raise here goes right back into the community; we give to the ambulance fund, we to the public library, we give to the schools, you name it,” said co-chair of the scarecrow festival Colleen Westergard-Baker. “We give to whatever entity says they need something.”

Every year, the Scarecrow Festival is able to bring in around $10,000 for the Akron community.

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