Spring in a box
Families build their best birdhouses for contest
SARANAC LAKE — Following last week’s snowman success, a group of local real estate professionals organized a birdhouse-building contest to give quarantined families something creative to do and share.
Making a birdhouse requires a lot more doing than making a snowman, but nevertheless, photos of 22 entries were received, Say Real Estate principal broker Cherrie Sayles said Tuesday.
It was a real family project, and parents and children worked together to make many of the nesting boxes.
“They are insanely talented, and the kids are getting right into it,” Sayles said. “It’s so cool.”
Each prize is a gift certificate to the winner’s favorite local business. Say Real Estate paid for those with last week’s snowmen, but this week other local businesses stepped up to sponsor a prize each.
The $100 first-place gift certificate went to teenager Madelyn Gay for a birdhouse styled like a schoolhouse, the facade of which bore a shout-out to her fellow seniors at Saranac Lake High School.
Four others won $50 gift certificates for category themes: “Most Creative,” “Most Ambitious,” “Most Adirondack” and “Best New Construction.”
Sayles made sure to mention some entries that came in too late for judging, such as a group of small “cookie-cutter” bird feeders shaped like stars and hearts, made by kids at Kids R Us day care.
“They were so cute,” she said.
Kristina Clifford and Ruth Hagman judged the contest. For next week’s project, they are asking people what they want to do.
“The judges will pick five out of all those suggestions, and then we’ll do a poll,” Sayles said. The idea that gets the most votes will be next week’s challenge — announced Friday.
“We’re going to keep to going until we all get free,” Sayles said.
You can find the weekly challenges on Facebook by searching for “Quarantination event page.” There are more than one.
Meanwhile, local businesswoman Andrea Audi of Cedar Circle LLC hopes to place some of the birdhouses in village parks and is asking makers to donate them for this purpose. Audi said local artists have offered to paint any birdhouses that aren’t already painted.