The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Nearly 4,000 people visited Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center throughout the 7th Annual Scarecrow Festival in October and November 2015 to see decorate scarecrow designs and displays.

Families, organizations, schools, churches and businesses created beautiful, creepy, funny and creative designs with recycleable and repurposed materials, and each visitor had the opportunity to vote for a favorite entry.

Awards were presented in a variety of categories on the final day of the Festival - Autumn Fair, November 7, 2015. Also, Shangri La Director, Rick Lewandowski, reviewed all entries and chose winners of the Director's Awards. These scarecrows were awarded for being some of the most memorable designs and using earth-friendly materials in the most mindful ways.

Each of the award winners were outstanding and come from various towns throughout southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

Congratulations 2015 Scarecrow winners

Business I Category

1st Place - Cottage Cuttings "Flaming Headless Horseman"

2nd Place - G & G Enterprises Construction Corporation "Nuts About 'Peanuts'"

3rd Place - Tiger Rock Martial Arts of Orange "Tae Kwon Crow"

Honorable Mention - Golden Triangle Emergency Center "Hocus Pocus Visits GTEC"

Business II Category

1st Place - The Beaumont Enterprise "BEE Newsy"

2nd Place - Home Depot "DIY Scarecrow"

3rd Place - Sabine Federal Credit Union "Officer S.A. Bine"

Honorable Mention - Akrotex, Inc. "Rosscrow & Roxy"

Church Category

1st Place - Trinity Baptist Church "Raggedy Ann Loves Everyone"

2nd Place - Salem United Methodist Church "Can These Bones Live"

Family Category

1st Place - Watson-Wheeler Family "Sleeping on the Job"

2nd Place - Wayne and Alice McCray "Mr. McScary and Son"

3rd Place - Angela Briscoe & Jamie Bray "Scarecrow's Travels"

Honorable Mention - Shari Hardin "Hook 'Em Horns!"

Individual Category

1st Place - Maggie Reynolds, Carolyn Gorby & Karen Droddy "City Chickens"

Organizations Category

1st Place - Orange Fire Department "All in a Day's Work"

2nd Place - Camp Fire - Orange "Starflight"

3rd Place - Children's Garden Committee "Minion Pot People"

Honorable Mention - H.E.A.R.T "H.E.A.R.T"

School Category

1st Place - Ms. Holland's 3rd Grade Class - LCE "Ms. Holland's Squarecrows"

2nd Place - Vidor Jr. High Art Club "Wheelson"

3rd Place - LCM-CISD "We've Landed in Shangri La!"

Honorable Mention - Ms. Davis' & Ms. Ellis' 3rd Grade-LCE "The Day the Crayons Quit"

Director's Awards

Visitors' Favorite - Cottage Cuttings "Flaming Headless Horseman"

Members' Favorite - Ms. Holland's 3rd Grade-LCE "Ms. Holland's Squarecrows"

Best Recycling Message - International Paper "Captain McScary"

Most Original Theme for a Scarecrow - Vidor Jr. High Art Club "Wheelson"

Best Botanical Theme Using Artificial Materials - FCCLA-Orangefield "Untitled"

Building Community Pride - Friends of Orange Depot "The Little Train Depot That Could"

Most Innovative Use of Natural Materials - What's Happening Orange County? "Niked! (Just Did It)"