KAYSVILLE — Beginning this weekend, the USU Botanical Center in Kaysville will welcome the local community for a 10-day, family-friendly event spotlighting its sights and sounds, the fall season and the creativity of its patrons.

The fourth annual Scarecrow Walk event at the botanical center will begin Saturday and run through Sunday, Oct. 6. Admission is free of charge, but guests are asked only to visit during the center’s dawn-to-dusk open hours.

“We have a bunch of different local businesses, community partners and individuals who come and they get to create their own scarecrows and we put them on display in a circle around our property,” said Alex Zesiger, USU Botanical Center’s outreach manager.

Visitors will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite scarecrows using QR codes, after which the makers of the best display will be awarded with a prize.

A full slate of kickoff-day activities is planned, starting at 9 a.m. with the Scarecrow 5K, during which participants are encouraged to dress like scarecrows. Registration for the 5K, which has been organized by the Farmington Rotary Club, will remain open through 8:45 a.m. Saturday and can be accessed online via https://extension.usu.edu/botanicalcenter/events/scarecrow-walk.

Awards will be given to race and costume contest winners.

Then, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, a multitude of other Scarecrow Walk features and experiences will be open to attendees. Activities include food trucks, live music, a pet costume contest (in the edible garden at 11:30 a.m.), face painting, pumpkin painting, a dedicated kids zone and more.

Per Zesiger, approximately 2,000 people came through the botanical center for last year’s Scarecrow Walk. She added that the annual event serves as a beacon for the center and all it has to offer.

“A lot of people drive past us on the freeway and see the Kaysville Ponds and don’t realize that we’re actually a botanical center with different gardens and different public education opportunities and fun classes and different events,” Zesiger said. “So, we’re kind of trying to bring awareness to the fact that we’re here, but also providing a fun thing for families and individuals to come out and just enjoy a beautiful Saturday here in the green space that we’ve created.”