Scarecrows come to Siesta Key businesses

Tunaskin Aquatic Apparel arrived in Siesta Key in March, and this fall it discovered a way to grow its presence in the community. 

The store put out a scarecrow decked in some of its water apparel.

"We're very involved in the community, and we noticed that a lot of really popular local shops, whether it's restaurants or retail shops, are all doing it," said Jonny Chartrand, who is part of the store's management.

The scarecrow is part of the Scarecrow Stroll, which was introduced by the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce this year.

The "scarecrows," created by local businesses and built around varying themes can be seen from Oct. 1 to 31, and the public has the chance to vote on their favorite.

Photo by Ian Swaby

So far, more than 500 votes have been received, said chamber CEO Sarah Firstenberger.

"It was a really nice opportunity for our members and participating businesses to have a little fun, get creative and offer something unique to the community that they've enjoyed walking around and participating in," she said. 

The event has been a chance for restaurants to showcase their creativity, said Katie Spelman of Above the Bar Hospitality Group, which owns multiple popular restaurants in Siesta Key.

"They're all different because everybody created them independently, so everybody has their own take on what's going to work," she said. 

She said restaurant management and longtime staff took the lead on scarecrows, like a figure of the character Max Mayfield from the popular Netflix series "Stranger Things" suspended above Beach Club Siesta Key.

The figure depicts the character being levitated in the air, while another one, a prop the restaurant purchased, depicts her collapsed on the ground.

Photo by Ian Swaby

The ceiling figure of Max uses PVC piping stuffed with garbage bags, with real clothing including a pair of old jeans that belonged to Spelman's son.

A scarecrow based on the film "Beetlejuice" found outside The Cottage, another of the company's restaurants, uses air conditioning coil to recreate the snake creature from the film.

At another of their restaurants, The Hub Baja Grill, staff created a two-part scene split between different sides of the restaurant and based on Disney's "Encanto."

One of these is a scene of the character Isabela Madrigal swinging on a flowery vine, and is found on a tree outside.

"It's great for the community," Spelman said. "It's great for the island and to get people out walking in the morning, seeing them. They're conversation pieces. It's fun. And then hopefully next year, and in the years that follows, it builds, and it becomes this really cool thing that we can get people from Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, downtown, all here, even if it's just to take a stroll with this beautiful weather and have an ice cream or have a coffee or just see the sunset and spend time in the village."

Photo by Ian Swaby

The public can vote for their favorite scarecrow among the 14 participating businesses by visiting My.SiestaKeyChamber.com.