ELKINS — Our Town Inc. has announced that the decorative scarecrows that are currently on display in downtown Elkins will be taken down on Saturday and sold, two weeks earlier than originally planned.

The scarecrows, which are mostly placed along Third Street and Davis Avenue, were put up for visitors and residents to enjoy back on Sept. 6. They were scheduled to remain standing until Oct. 11.

“Due to the many requests from those who made scarecrows this year and wished to purchase them, the Our Town Auxiliary has chosen to remove them from the light poles this coming Saturday (Sept. 27), in order that they sustain no damage from the activities and crowds that surround the Mountain State Forest Festival,” a press release from Our Town stated.

The scarecrows will be sold at the Davis Trust Company Drive-Thru, and those who created a scarecrow will get the first opportunity to purchase it from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The remainder of the scarecrows will be sold to the general public from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Scarecrows can not be reserved.

This year marked the return of the scarecrows to downtown Elkins after a one-year hiatus. Close to 50 scarecrows were put on display for this year’s event.

“We had some really good scarecrows this year,” Our Town volunteer Pricilla Gay told The Inter-Mountain. “We did some things a little bit different than we did with them in the past and it seemed to work out for everyone.”

Gay said Our Town Inc. is always looking for ideas from the community for things to do in the future.

“If there is anyone in the community that would like to hear a certain type of music or see a specific event come to Elkins, they are welcome to reach out to us,” Gay said. “We are always open to suggestions.”

For more information or to make a suggestion to Our Town, visit the organization’s Facebook page.