Scarecrow Madness spreads throughout Johnson County, beyond

The madness is spreading.

Homes and businesses all over Johnson County — and beyond — have been affected. Wizards have appeared in front of beloved restaurants. Witches are perched by library entrances. Jack Skellington creeps through school hallways.

Spooky Halloween characters, beloved pop culture icons and more have appeared across the county. And each one helps a local nonprofit provide assistance to the greater community.

Now in its fifth year, Scarecrow Madness has resulted in more than $12,000 to area nonprofits and charities such as Johnson County Senior Services and the Delta Lambda chapter of Tri Kappa in Greenwood. The event has evolved, as nonprofits were given the opportunity to spearhead the displays in their own communities.

With nonprofits in towns and cities around Johnson County taking over organization of the fundraiser, the enthusiastic response from participants has been exciting to see.

“It’s very heartwarming for me to know such a variety of nonprofits are benefiting from the funds raised. The different communities are loving the experience of getting involved, whether it be for the fifth year in the row or for their first year,” said Jeanie Cole, local realtor and founder of the event.

Cole has been the engine behind Scarecrow Madness, inspired after she discovered a similar community effort while traveling in New Hampshire.

Each year, the town of Chester and the surrounding county features whimsical and creatively decorated scarecrows. The displays are a yearly fundraiser for the Chester Historical Society and bring the entire community around a fun and festive contest — which appealed to Cole, as did the potential to use it locally as a fundraiser for an area nonprofit.

Participants buy a kit that includes a decorated burlap bag head and a stick to mount it on. At that point, it’s time to let their creativity take over. As the fundraiser has grown, Cole searched for other organizations to take the idea and run with it on their own.

She found a willing partner in ASSIST Indiana, a nonprofit group serving survivors of violence in the area. The organization has been an active participant in the display over the past four years; their eye-catching designs of characters such as Mary Poppins, Rapunzel and ET have been some of the most popular year after year.

Other groups have stepped forward to lead Scarecrow Madness in their own communities.

The nonprofit is hosting Scarecrow Madness in Franklin, carrying on a longstanding tradition. The Delta Lambda chapter of Tri Kappa in Greenwood, a longtime supporter of Scarecrow Madness, is helping with and receiving proceeds from the Greenwood sales.

The Hope Gallery, an outreach of the Alex and Ali Foundation, are hosting in Bargersville and the Center Grove area. Edinburgh has dozens of entrants behind efforts by the Senior Moments group at the John R. Drybread Community Center. They sold 25 scarecrows to East Side Elementary School, and each classroom did a personalized display in their classroom.

The effort has even spread out of Johnson County, as the Beech Grove Lions Club is hosting in their home city.

Cole worked with the different groups, providing 50 or 100 pre-printed or plain burlap bags, sold to the group at cost. She offered her time to coach the groups with marketing tips, helping create already-formatted flyers and pamphlets and guided them through the first year.

“I am thrilled that so many different individuals and nonprofits want to carry on this tradition and bring it to new areas like Edinburgh and Beech Grove,” Cole said. “I hope that other towns, such as Shelbyville, Morgantown or Nashville, get involved next year with the same program I offered these groups this year.”

Displays are set around the county, as each participant has put their own spin on the contest. Outside the Hope Gallery, Miss Piggy greets visitors to downtown Bargersville.

At a Beech Grove home on North 17th Avenue, Charlie Brown has been fooled once again as Lucy pulls the football away.

A Hawaiian shirt-sporting scarecrow stands among a flock of margarita glasses on Perry Street in Edinburgh — a tribute to Jimmy Buffett.

While residents are encouraged to explore the Facebook pages to find Scarecrow Madness displays in the different communities, some special events have been planned to amplify the fun. Both Franklin and Beech Grove will be judging the best contributions in their respective communities on Oct. 13-16. Winners will be announced on their Facebook pages.

On Oct. 18, Edinburgh is planning a golf cart cruise to see the town’s scarecrows starting at 5:30 p.m. People with golf carts can register at the Drybread Community Center by calling 812-526-3539. For those without golf carts, a trolley tour is planned for the following night, Oct. 19. Seats are available by calling the community center.

Cole is excited to see how the Scarecrow Madness tradition will grow in the future. She’s hoping to enlist other communities to take part; they can do so by emailing [email protected].

AT A GLANCE

Scarecrow Madness

What: A fundraising effort encouraging local residents to purchase scarecrow kits to decorate their yards in the fall.

How to get involved:

Jeanie Cole, founder of Scarecrow Madness, asks that if any other town like Nineveh, Trafalgar, Morgantown, Nashville, Martinsville, Mooresville, Shelbyville or more would like to become involved next year, to email [email protected].

How to find scarecrows: Entries are posted on Facebook pages for participating towns. Go to Scarecrow Madness Bargersville, Scarecrow Madness Edinburgh, Scarecrow Madness Beech Grove and Scarecrow Madness Franklin for information.