Published on September 3, 2025 4:08 pm
Last Updated on September 4, 2025 6:29 am
BY WAYNETTE CARTER
Since 1936, the Alaska State Fair features record-setting giant vegetables, beautiful flower gardens, concerts, and Alaskan and Alaska native culture. People come from all over the world to enjoy the tasty food, great entertainment and time together with their family.
One of the highlights of the fair is the “Build A Scarecrow Contest.” The contest was made up of eight teams that could only use string, scissors, paper plates, markers, donated clothes, hay, a wooden frame and their imaginations to create the perfect scarecrow in 45 minutes.
On August 15th, Ruth Ann Brady of Watson accepted the challenge and created a team consisting of four generations of family members that were vacationing with her in Alaska. Her team members were her sister Kathy Morgan, sisters-in-law Becky DeWeese and Jeanie Eident, daughter Lori Cora, granddaughters Michaela Phillips and AnnMarie Cora, and great-grandsons Macklan and Merrick Johnson.
As the contest began, they raced to pick out the perfect pieces of clothing to make their scarecrow unique. They hurried back and began stuffing the clothes and their scarecrow started to take shape. The final touches, including a star held in the hand of the scarecrow, were added. At last, their scarecrow was finished and the judges began walking around and looking at each team’s creations. Finally, the winners were announced and Ruth Ann and her team took first place! The team received their first place blue ribbon.
The theme of the fair was “Reaching for the Stars” and Ruth Ann and her team did just that.
