Los Alamos celebrates the seventh annual Santa Ynez Valley Scarecrow Festival with a mini Chalk Festival on Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. The theme is Scarecrows and Fall Harvest.
The featured artist for the event is Christi Schaeffer of Gypsy Studios, who plans to create a larger chalk painting of the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, but instead of cornfields in the background, there will be a vineyard.
The festival does more than just showcase scarecrows, it serves as a mini-fundraiser for the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Art Department for its upcoming spring art trip to San Francisco. The scattered tip jars from the event will go to the school’s art department as a donation. One of the C Gallery owners, Connie Rohde, is excited to give back to her community, according to a released statement.
“The legacy of young women making their living in the arts from the art program … some eight-plus years ago is gratifying. It’s my pleasure to help them fundraise,” Rohde said in the statement.
The public is invited to stroll the decorated sidewalks of Los Alamos on Oct. 22. More info: 344-3807 or thecgallery.com.
This article appears in Oct 20-27, 2016.