It’s a bird-

It’s a plane-

It’s Super Cow!

Super Cow, the Headless Horseman, Medusa and a bedraggled Tim Tebow are just a few of the 16 hay bale sculptures on display on South Milledge Avenue this week. They are part of the Cattlemen’s Association Halloween Havoc competition.

“We started this last year as a fundraiser for the Athens Food Bank,” said Halloween Havoc chairman Tyler Murray, a senior from Woodbine, in a telephone interview Monday.

“There’s a Frankenstein that won last year and a witch that was second,” he said.

Participating groups purchased hay bales to decorate for the competition. The first and second place groups will receive prizes of $150 and $100, respectively.

“The hay bales are going to be judged on originality, effort and creativity,” Murray said.

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences faculty members Dan Daniels, Jean Bertrand and Brice Nelson judged the hay bales Monday night. Winners will be announced at tonight’s fall festival.

The fall festival will be a first for the organization, Murray said. He said it was inspired by feedback from Halloween Havoc.

“We got the idea from having so many people that wanted to stop by, take pictures and talk to us about it,” he said.

Keith Bertrand, department head for the animal and dairy science department, said several student groups were having fall activities planned around the same time, and Cattlemen’s thought this would be a good opportunity to work together and promote the college.

“I think people like those hay bales,” he said in a telephone interview Monday. “It’s a chance to showcase the spirit of students working together to promote agriculture.”

The festival will take place tonight from 5:30 until 8 in the field across from the Livestock Teaching Arena, Murray said.

Though admission is free, canned food and monetary donations to benefit the Northeast Georgia Food Bank will be accepted, he said. Other activities include animal displays, tattoos and face-painting, pumpkin carving and, of course, plenty of photo opportunities with the hay-bales and tractors.

Concessions, provided by Young Farmer’s Association and Horseman’s Association, will be sold. Money from that will benefit the Cattlemen’s Association’s Bulldawg Showdown Steer Show.

“Hopefully it will be a bigger event from now on,” Murray said. “We’ve had [community] people stop by and ask if they can participate next time.”

Bertrand said he thought the hay bales were a great idea.

“It makes a nice display as you go up and down Milledge,” he said. “In these economic times, it’s good to get out there and have a little fun.”