A new scarecrow lineup at Alta Vista Botanical Gardens welcomes everyone to visit! In a flurry of creativity, families and volunteers constructed 20 new scarecrows at the Fall Fun Festival on October 12. Local businesses and individuals sponsored scarecrows to provide the Festival free to the community.
The Fall Fun Festival brought in 900 visitors including 70 volunteers from Vista High School, Guajome Park Academy, Mission Vista High, Vista Magnet Middle School and Camp Pendleton. The Woman’s Club of Vista GFWC members worked with the scarecrow contest on registration and helped families with construction.
First Place Winner in the scarecrow contest was the Tomac Clan. Second Place winners were the Chek It Out Family, and Spider Crow by the Carr Family was the Third Place winner. Contest winners were awarded certificates for the scarecrow contest.
Contest and door prizes were donated by Lamppost Pizza in Vista Village, Sunrise Café on S. Santa Fe, and Little Cakes Cupcake Kitchen in the Village.
Vendors offered jewelry, plants, art, and garden art. The plant sale at the Festival offered a wide variety of succulents and color spot plants, along with specimen plants. Girl Scouts from Troop 2158 painted faces for children and adults, Amigos de Vista Lions offered the smokin’ BBQ lunch, Vic Moraga sang and played his mellow guitar, and Tanya’s Dance students tapped their little hearts out. The Vista High School Environmental Club offered Kindness Rocks for kids to paint, and Tutu (Elizabeth Sainz) helped kids create Hair Wreaths. Visitors planted milkweed seeds to support monarch butterflies. Worms, macaroni necklaces, decorating pumpkins, bobbing for apples, suncatchers, and spiders rounded out the activity offerings.
Opening and sharing the beautiful Alta Vista Botanical Gardens for visitors for this eleventh Fall Fun Festival has become a community tradition; the event is free for the public to enjoy. Alta Vista Botanical Gardens are open every day from 8 am to 5 pm (10 am opening on Sunday) for all to explore the plants, the art and the views. The newest feature is the Children’s Discovery Trail with challenges and plant quiz boxes. Garden entry is $5 per person and $3 for children to age 12. The Kids in the Garden class with Farmer Jones is now in its eleventh year with a monthly class; the schedule is on the website. Pre-register for kids classes with farmerjonesavbg@gmail.com or (760) 822-6824. Memberships are available on the website and the Kids in the Garden class is free with family membership in the Gardens
On the web: altavistabotanicalgardens.orgPhone: (760) 945-3954
email: info@altavistabotanicalgardens.org
