(Radio Iowa) – A fundraising effort in eastern Iowa later this month will feature dozens of straw-stuffed scarecrows with the goal of scaring up awareness and donations to help feed the hungry. Cynthia Freese, director of Made in Iowa, says Cedar Rapids will be hosting a Scarecrow Festival on October 18th at Hawkeye Downs. “We do the Made in Iowa markets and this year we decided to incorporate a Scarecrow Festival,” Freese says, “and we’ve had just over 50 people sign up to bring their scarecrows down. So I’m pretty excited that it’s turning out well.”

The Scarecrow Festival is modeled after the Festival of Trees, where each individually crafted holiday tree is put on display — and auction — for charity. Freese says the first step if the new festival is assembling the large collection of scarecrows. “We have age group parameters, and our size parameters are from one inch to six feet,” Freese says. “I know we have somebody who crocheted a teeny, tiny micro one, and I’m super excited to see in person.”

The Made in Iowa Market will feature 150 vendors with a variety of handmade goods, treats, crafts, and one-of-a-kind art, while there will be a series of contests to judge the crop of scarecrows. “The funniest, the scariest, the most creative, the most eco friendly,” Freese says. “We’ve got a young kid that’s submitted one that’s made out of trash that he’s found around the house and on his walks to school, so I’m super excited to see that in person.”

Admission is $5 and Freese says 10-percent of all ticket proceeds go to support Together We Achieve, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting hunger in eastern Iowa. Plus, she says many of the scarecrows will be auctioned or sold to benefit the charity.