The Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market was looking a little spookier on Oct. 30 as families flocked to the event to participate in the Fall Funtastic Harvest Festival. The event, put on by the Arts and Culture Department, has been a part of the Farmers’ Market since 2016.
“I thought it was great,” said Arts and Culture Manager Ben Johnson. “I love connecting these kinds of activities to the public promise of community building.”
The seasonal celebration included a scarecrow decorating contest hosted by the Greystone Demonstration Garden, a craft station for kids, a petting zoo, and plenty of candy. Prizes were given to the scariest, funniest, and most original scarecrows.
Tiny superheroes, witches, and princesses descended on Civic Center Drive. Parents looked on as children painted small pumpkins, colored, and listened to a story time session from the Beverly Hills Public Library.
George Pessin, a recreation specialist at the Greystone Demonstration Garden, was delighted to help with the festivities.
“The creativity that goes into it is amazing,” Pessin said. The hard-earned prize, a $50 credit towards any vendor at the market, later went to Pamela Saunders. The winning scarecrow will be installed in the Greystone Garden.
After two years of holidays influenced by COVID-19, parents told the Courier they are happy for their children to have a normal Halloween. Sarah and Aaron Michaelson, Beverly Hills natives, were excited to relive their childhood traditions with their daughter Ronnie, who was playing in the petting zoo.
“We’ll probably go trick-or-treating on Walden,” Aaron said. “It’s what we’ve done since we were in high school.”
Even Councilmember Julian Gold came out to see the festivities.
“We come out every Sunday that we can,” Gold said. “It’s a great opportunity to meet the community. We love it.”
The Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market is held every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the 9300 block of Civic Center Drive. The next holiday event held at the Farmers’ Market will be a holiday craft fair and cookie baking contest on Dec. 11.
For more information, visit www.beverlyhills.org/departments/communityservices/farmersmarket.
