Botanical Gardens FREE this Weekend, Inside Scoop on Scarecrows in the Garden

What: Inside Scoop on Scarecrows in the Garden
Where: Atlanta Botanical Garden
When: Oct. 1 – 31
Cost: As part of the Bank of America Museums on Us program, Bank of America customers get in FREE to the Atlanta Botanical Garden the first weekend of every month

October is here, which means it’s time to start thinking about Halloween and the annual Scarecrows in the Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. I hear they have more entries than ever before. Entries generally include wild and crazy characters, from the witty and whimsical to the scary and sinister. Metro area residents, families, artists, designers, businesses and organizations create the scarecrows, which compete for prizes in one of two design categories: professional and nonprofessional. This year the Garden expects more than 120 Scarecrows to take up residence for the month.

The scarecrows are displayed throughout the woodland and children’s gardens. On weekends from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., activities include pumpkin bowling and scarecrow crafts. On Thursday evenings, visitors can check out the scarecrows under the glare of flashlights(which they are encouraged to bring) during Fest of Ale. Each week from 5-10 p.m. the family friendly beer fest features a variety of fine specialty ales and live musical entertainment.

To make sure you get the most out of your visit to see the Scarecrows, we asked Cathleen Cooke, exhibits manager at the Atlanta Botanical Garden to give us the Inside Scoop. Here’s what she had to say:

1) What is the best time to see Scarecrows in the Garden?
The least crowded times tend to be between 2-4 weekdays, after the school groups have moved on but while the kiddos are still in school.
2) How do you beat the crowds and have the best experience on the weekends?
Generally, on weekends, if you get here right when we open at 9, you’ll beat the crowds. And again, there tends to be an afternoon lull around 3 or 4. Please note that the ride-on-train only runs during the month of October. Since it’s such a short timeframe(1-4 pm) it tends to be fairly crowded throughout the event.
3)Generally, what are the ages of the children that attend the various events?
Goblins — families with children birth to 7 or 8; Fest-of-Ale — all ages, but especially elementary and middle schoolers…often moms bring the kids after school, dad meets them for a drink after work, then they all head home as it starts to get dark; weekend activities in the
Children’s Garden tends to be mostly toddlers and elementary school kids
4) Any cool (or sick as my son say) trivia about one or more of the scarecrows?
Good question! It’s a little early for that because I don’t really know what’s coming in yet. We always get some that are a reflection of pop culture, so I’m curious if we’ll see any Michael Jackson or Ted Kennedy look alikes, or maybe an ode to the Real Housewives of Atlanta. We also have around 120 registrations this year, which is more than we’ve ever had. Not everyone will follow through, but we’ll definitely have “more than ever”…over 100.