• Home
  • Posts
  • Historical Society Visitors Build Scarecrows in the Rain

Historical Society Visitors Build Scarecrows in the Rain

dale-sitkowski-with-8yrs-son-ian
Dale Sitkowskbuilds a scarecrow with her 8 -year-old son, Ian at the Bush-Holley House during the Fall Festival
Dale Sitkowskbuilds a scarecrow with her 8 -year-old son, Ian at the Bush-Holley House during the Fall Festival. Photo by Chèye Roberson

By Chéye Roberson
Sentinel Correspondent

Although the scarecrow-building competition held every year at the Fall Festival at the Greenwich Historical Society’s Bush-Holley House was cancelled due to rain, some families still came out to display their costumed scarecrows and enjoy the rest of the day’s activities, which revolved around the society’s latest exhibit.

“The festival wasn’t completely halted; people found a way,” said Anna Greco, the curator of education for the Bush-Holley House.

The Fall Festival, held last Sunday afternoon, focused on Japanese celebrations in connection with the current exhibition, “An Eye to the East: The Inspiration of Japan,” in the Storehouse Gallery. Through paintings, prints, photographs, carvings, ceramics and textiles, “An Eye to the East” looks at the influence that Japanese art and culture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries had on artists of the revered Cos Cob School.

Greco said that the society always tries to pull from the current exhibit when planning activities for the festival. She added that scarecrow making was fit right in with the festivities because it is also a Japanese custom.

The Greenwich Historical Society provided the armature, or skeleton, of the scarecrow, hay for stuffing, twine and a burlap sack for the head along with fashion accessories. Families also brought along their own fashion accessories to create straw samurai, Spider-Man, and bicentennial man figures.

Guests enjoyed Japanese fan making and kite making, face painting, a martial arts demonstration, a traditional Japanese dance and martial arts, and a tour of Bush-Holley House.

Members of the World Seido Karate Organization performed a martial arts demonstration. John McGettigan, a sixth-degree black belt, and Jun Shihan of the World Seido Karate Organization said there’s work ethic that a student of martial arts learns that can be applied to everyday life.

“The key thing for students when you practice techniques is trying to get them right,” said McGettigan. “Then, after you leave the karate school, you try to do the right thing, be in the moment, say the right thing—it’s character building. That’s what it is.”

A traditional Japanese dance called the Yosakoi-Soran-Bushi, sung by fisherman to bring in a big catch, was performed by students from the Greenwich Japanese School on Lake Avenue. The students were in the first through ninth grades.

“It was beautiful, and they didn’t have a lot of time to practice, but it was great, beautiful and powerful,” said Mayu Matsumoro, whose son is in the first grade and is friends and classmates of one of the performers.

Greco said that feedback from people in attendance was wonderful—and that seemed to accomplish the goals of the day.

“We hope people learned a little about Japanese culture and had fun,” said Greco.

Related Posts
Loading...