Awards, demonstrations will highlight Frog Alley event

A bit of its agrarian heritage will return to Frog Alley Park in Uptown Kingston later this month with an event celebrating scarecrows and other autumnal arts.

 Scarecrows at Frog Alley, sponsored by Friends of Historic Kingston in association with the Junior League of Kingston, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at the ruins of the Louw-Bogardus house on Frog Alley, adjacent to the Wiltwyck Fire Station.

 The event will feature elaborate and stylish  scarecrows crafted by area businesses and artists, including doll manufacturer Robert Tonner, Boitson’s restaurateur Maria Phillips, O+ Festival co-founder Joe Concra, and Hyde Park Historic Properties curator Frank Futral,

 The public is encouraged to enter their own scarecrow creations for judging. Prizes will be awarded for Best Design, Most Original Concept and Most Frightening creation. A pumpkin-carving demonstration and lessons for children in scarecrow crafting will also be featured. Refreshments will be served.

The event’s sponsors include Dietz Stadium Diner and Deisings Bakery.

  The Louw-Bogardus House, a 17th-century stone foundation, is one of the oldest known sites of a working sawmill and gristmill in Kingston and has yielded significant archaeological remnants of early Dutch porcelain and 17th-century bricks. It was purchased in the late 1970s by Friends of Historic Kingston with a major contribution by the Ulster Garden Club for the landscaping of the hill garden and bluestone seating area. Today the site serves as an outdoor historical teaching venue for students in elementary school through college and for visitors worldwide.