ALTAMONT — Harold Hahn hasn’t seen a crow at the Altamont Fair since 1993. This tells him that perhaps scarecrows work, he said.

It was that year that the Guilderland farmer started the scarecrow contest at the Altamont Fair. Hahn saw scarecrow contests at other fairs, so he suggested it, he said.

It’s been a big hit ever since.

Usually there are 20 to 25 scarecrow entries each year, Hahn said. People bring their scarecrows in to be judged or make them right there, he said.

The contest has three categories: one for adults, one for ages 16 and under, and one for groups or organizations.
"It’s one of the best things to enter at the fair because there is no entrance fee," Hahn said.

The scarecrows can vary in size, he said, and adult entries have to be bigger than the youth entries.
Asked what the scarecrows are made out of, Hahn said, "Anything durable." Old clothing stuffed with newspapers, rags, hay, or straw will do, he said.

But, because scarecrows are meant to be outside, they must be able to withstand severe weather conditions.

They must also be self-supporting, Hahn said, such as with a piece of wood.
Hahn organizes the contest and chooses its judges. He does not judge the contest because, he said, "I’ve got too many other things to do."

The entries are judged on durability, originality, and creative use of material, Hahn said.
"People dress their scarecrows up as all sorts of things," Hahn said, adding, the more creative the better.

The best scarecrow he’s ever seen was one of a fisherman that a teenager had made a few years ago, he said. No one in the contests that followed has ever scored as high as that one, he said.

Winners receive $35 for first place; $20 for second; $10 for third; $8 for fourth; $7 for fifth; and $6 for sixth.

Anyone interested can show up at the fair, with their scarecrow, at the stage area near Gate 3, on Saturday between noon and 5 p.m.
No experience is required, Hahn concluded. "Just make one and bring it down to the stage area Saturday," he said.