Custom-painted toy soldiers will stand guard in Oak Harbor

Maybe it was the beady eyes.

“He’s kind of creepy,” 9-year-old Ethan Riker said as he stood next to the dapper wooden cutout wearing a frozen smile.

The 4-foot wooden toy soldier on display at the Oak Harbor Main Street Assn. office will soon have plenty of company and be a prominent sight along Pioneer Way this holiday season.

Inspired by the snow people cutouts that are part of Coupeville’s holiday tradition, Oak Harbor’s Main Street group is hoping this will be the start of a tradition in its city.

Last month, 34 toy soldier cutouts were created and “put up for adoption” for individuals or businesses to purchase for $15.

The idea was for the soldiers to be painted and decorated, then returned to the Main Street office so they can be displayed downtown. Each will be numbered so the public can vote on their favorite one.

“Part of what Main Street is, is revitalizing downtown and economic development,” said Melissa Riker, executive director of the Oak Harbor association. “This is a way to market and bring people downtown.

“It’s kind of a fun little adventure for people to visit downtown and find their favorite toy soldier.”

The idea has caught on quickly as only one toy soldier remained unspoken for Monday.

Main Street is asking the soldiers to be returned to the office by Nov. 18 and will be set out around downtown before Nov. 23 when voting starts, Riker said.

A volunteer constructed the blank cutouts, inviting people to show off their creative talents.

“Toy soldiers are obviously a reference to the holiday classic, ‘The Nutcracker,’” said Margaret Livermore, president of Oak Harbor’s Main Street group and the artist behind the figure on display at the office in the downtown mall.

“Plus, they are a nod to the fact that we are a military community. So we feel like we have a couple of good reasons for the toy soldier theme.”

Expect to see them standing upright around downtown in the coming weeks with more anticipated in the future.

The original plan to build 12 soldiers soon doubled, then 10 more were added based on the demand.

“I’m very excited to see how they come back,” Riker said. “Every year, we’ll do more.”