Spooky season has officially arrived. The Arbor Garden Club of Clinton will run a scarecrow contest fundraiser around Clinton from Wednesday, Oct. 12 through Friday, Oct. 28.

Decorating scarecrows is a time-honored New England tradition in the fall and the Arbor Garden Club is hoping that businesses, civic groups, clubs, and organizations will participate. The contest asks entities to create a scarecrow that best represents their products, services, and contributions to the town. The scarecrows will be displayed in front of shops as well as at public locations throughout town. On Sunday, Oct. 30, the three scarecrows that have secured the most votes will be announced and their creators will receive gift cards donated from area restaurants. The exact locations of the scarecrows will be posted on the Arbor Garden Club of Clinton, CT Facebook page. There is a $25 fee to participate.

Lisa Wickersham, an organizer of the event, said that funds raised by the event will go to seeds for the community garden, educational programs open to the general public, beautification of the town through tree and plant donations, and scholarships.

Wickersham said the club got the idea from neighboring towns that have run similar fundraisers in the past.

“Other towns have done this in the past and we’ve always kind of sat on the sidelines. We really got the idea from Old Saybrook mostly, and I wanted to do something that was a win-win for the community and local businesses,” said Wickersham.

The hope is that by including local business people going to check out the scarecrows will also investigate the wares for sale in the various businesses.

“We really want to get not just walkable Clinton but the stores off the path, like on Glenwood and other areas,” said Wickersham.

This is the first contest of its kind the club has done, but Wickersham said she hopes this will become an annual event.

“We’ve got some interest and I think we can build on it. If this gets some legs we can bring it back next year and hopefully make it bigger. I think it will be fun and get people excited,” said Wickersham.

“You only get one vote though so make sure we see all the scarecrows before voting!” Wickersham added