Can you feel it?

The weather’s a bit cooler. The kids are finally back in school. Football is on TV.

There’s no doubt about it, we’re on the cusp of fall. And in Oxford, that means one thing – scarecrows.

The annual Scarecrow Festival is set to return on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“It’s an opportunity to get people downtown,” said Joe Frost, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA). “This is a multi-pronged event, if you will, where we’re showcasing our restaurants (and) we’re showcasing the businesses.”

Most of the action will happen in and around Centennial Park. There will be live music, a straw maze, a pumpkin pie eating contest, a bounce house and other inflatables, a costume contest at Merge Studio & Gallery (33 Pleasant St.), pumpkin bowling and hay wagon rides.

Both homeowners and businesses are invited to participate in this year’s festival by building a scarecrow and displaying it in front of their property as part of a contest.

Prizes will be awarded in three categories – most traditional, most creative and best use of recycled materials. Contestants must register their scarecrows with the DDA between Sept. 9 and 26. Registration is free and the form is available on the DDA’s website www.downtownoxford.org.

Scarecrows must be on display by Sept. 26.

Photographs of them will be taken and placed in a binder in Centennial Park, so the public can view them and vote for their favorites during the festival, according to Frost. Winners will be announced at 3:30 p.m.

Frost hopes the scarecrows will continue to adorn homes and businesses well beyond the festival. “We’re encouraging everyone to keep them up throughout October,” he said.

A number of downtown restaurants are expected to participate in the annual chili cook-off, which Frost called a “mainstay of the event.”

There will be two awards. A people’s choice award voted on by the public and a judge’s choice award.

Finding folks to taste all the delicious chilies shouldn’t be too difficult because the price is right. “They don’t have to pay for anything,” Frost said. “It’s free to the public to sample and vote.”

Kids are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to the festival and go trick-or-treating from business to business. Logos posted in windows will let kids and parents know who’s handing out goodies that day.

“In the past, most (merchants) have participated,” Frost said.

Frost views the Scarecrow Festival as yet another means of promoting the downtown and attracting visitors.

“Our hope is that people who haven’t been exposed to downtown before will come down, enjoy the day and want to come back,” he said.

Scarecrow Festival sponsors include Oxford Bank, Oxford Farm & Garden and Merge Studio & Gallery. For more information, visit www.downtownoxford.org or call the DDA office at (248) 770-8587. Vendor, volunteer and sponsorship opportunities are still available.