STEVENSVILLE — Several thousand people walked down Main Street over the weekend in Stevensville to see some of the homemade scarecrows that were made for the annual scarecrow festival.
The Stevensville Scarecrow Festival has been a staple in the community that has brought people from across Montana and different parts of the country to this small town for 18 years.
What has now become a big spectacle started off as a simple idea from Loey Knapp’s husband who is one of the founders of the event.
“He came in and he said you know what we need to do we need to start a scarecrow festival I was working at UM at the time and this was a new event for us and he went ahead and that year we had seven scarecrows out on the bike path.”
The festival has since moved to Main Street over the years and now there are 58 different scarecrows on display.
The most popular scarecrows win a cash prize but the people who make the scarecrows care more about contributing to something great for the community.
Festival committee member Gretchen Spiess reflected on the importance of community.
“They love it because they’re part of a town artistic festival, you don’t have to be a certain person or belong to a certain club or a certain age anybody can make a scarecrow and put it out there.”
The scarecrows will stay on display in Stevensville until October 14, 2023.
