Scarecrows gathering for annual festival

Costa Mesa’s Scarecrow and Pumpkin Festival returns to Fairview Park this weekend for free fall-themed family fun.

The revived event, now in its third consecutive year, takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Orange County Model Engineers’ Goat Hill Junction train station, 2398 Placentia Ave.

The festival features a pumpkin patch, food, train rides, face painting and more.

Submissions for the scarecrow contest are being accepted at the Goat Hill Junction through Friday, between noon and 5 p.m.

Judging starts around 11 a.m. Saturday, with the awards ceremony at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The event is organized by the Orange County Model Engineers, with support from the Costa Mesa Historical Society, Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club and city of Costa Mesa.

The scarecrow festival was a Great Depression-era event held in Costa Mesa from 1938 to 1941. In honor of the city’s 60th anniversary, it was revived in 2013.

For more information, visit www.costamesahistory.org or call (949) 436-5460.

—Bradley Zint