The city of Eureka will no longer be invaded by scarecrows every October.
Julie Wood, Eureka’s city clerk and communications director, said the decision to end the annual festival was made in the spring after other organizations showed little interest in helping plan the annual event.
The first scarecrow festival began in October 2014 when Barbara Scheer brought the event to Eureka after seeing a similar event in the seaside village of Cambria, Calif.
Scheer had headed up the scarecrow creative committee, which made various creations for the city, businesses and community members by request, for 10 years. She retired from the committee following last year’s scarecrow festival.
“I felt (the scarecrow festival) put Eureka on the map as one of the best destinations in Missouri in the fall,” Scheer said. “I wish we could have continued the festival for many years. Unfortunately, there appears to be little interest from the city to continue the festival.”
The Eureka Chamber of Commerce began helping organize the festival in 2017, expanding it to include numerous community events throughout October.
The Eureka Parks and Recreation Department took over most of the planning duties in 2021.
The festival went from having about 100 scarecrows set up around Eureka in its first year to approximately 200 scarecrows lining the streets and being displayed in front of businesses.
“The city of Eureka staff and the creative team have made the decision to discontinue the Scarecrow Festival,” Wood said in a statement sent to the Leader on Monday. “There was a lot that went into the event from creating the scarecrows, storing them in the off season, recruiting businesses to create their own scarecrows, placing the scarecrows around town and the overall management and advertising of the event.
“Logistically we couldn’t continue at the level that we wanted to and no one was comfortable moving forward with the event if it didn’t meet those high standards.”
Wood said residents and local business owners can still decorate for the fall season and scarecrows may still appear throughout the city.
“Scarecrows would need to be on their (resident’s or business’s) property and not in public right of ways,” she said.
The city began incorporating Eureka Days, which is typically held during the last weekend of September, into the scarecrow festival. The three-day event became part of the official start of the scarecrow festival.
Other events held as part of the scarecrow festival over the years included a golf cart parade on Central Avenue, a Big Truck and Safety Day at Eureka High School, the Harvest Moon Run in Route 66 State Park, the Great Go! St. Louis Halloween Race in the city and Realty Executives’ trunk-or-treat event in the Hilltop Village shopping plaza.
Two of those events changed dates in recent years with the Harvest Moon Run moving from an October date to September in 2022, and the city holding the Big Truck and Safety Day in April.
While there will not be a scarecrow festival this year, Wood said there will still be plenty to do in Eureka in the fall.
Eureka Days is scheduled to be held Sept. 27-29 in Lions and Legion parks, and Realty Executives will hold its trunk-or-treat event on Oct. 19.
The Great Go! St. Louis Halloween Race is expanding this year with the running event scheduled for Oct. 19-20. The two-day event will feature a half marathon, 10K run, 5K run and 1-mile fun run with a Halloween twist, according to the website, gostlouis.org.
Wood also said Karen Bopp, owner of Red Door Liquor and Cigars, and Jill Umbarger, owner of Sarah’s on Central, are putting together an Old Town Oktoberfest on Oct. 13.
Bopp and Umbarger did not return phone calls to the Leader to provide details about the Oktoberfest event.
“Fall is gearing up to be busy in Eureka with these great new and existing events,” Wood said. “We are thankful for everyone that made the scarecrow festival a great success in the past years and look forward to a fun fall with the new and existing events that are being offered.”