Scarecrow Festival 2007

We had a successful weekend, greatly helped by the weather. There was a good turn out of visitors, from near and far. The village was buzzing!

There were 55 scarecrow entries around the village trail (9 of which could rather be described as witty depictions of the theme, “Scarecrows at the Movies”, rather than featuring a traditional scarecrow figure, eg “The Invisible Man”, and “Rosemary’s Baby” – a pot of Rosemary in a pram!). There were 12 entries to the Children’s scarecrow competition, all of a very high standard. There were also 12 entries to the Scarecrow Scrapheap Challenge. This was great fun, and very competitive. The teams included family groups, some with very young children, teenagers and a very sporting bunch of Firemen. Once the Scrapheap scarecrows were made, this meant there were a total of 89 wonderful creations!

The Hobbies Group’s displays of Films and Flowers in the Church were stunning. The standard of craftsmanship and creativity was superb. The Craft Fair in the Union Chapel on Saturday was well received. This is the first year this has been tried and looks likely to be repeated. The children’s Scottish dancers, Hopscotch, were talented and enchanting. The two Morris sides that performed over the weekend, Hips and Haws and the Chippenham Town Morris Men, were very popular and added a good deal to the village colour of the event. It was great to have the support of Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service and the local Constabulary. The children (and adults!) seemed to enjoy exploring the vehicles.

And as well as all the fun, a considerable amount of money was raised: After expenses, the amount donated to Helping Hands from the main event (refreshments, programmes, entries etc) was £750.09. Other money was raised from stalls around the village, including the craft fair. The total raised for Helping Hands was £1,086.09. Money was also raised for different causes, including £234 for Christian Aid, £130 for the School and £91.94 for the Union Chapel windows fund. The grand total donated to good causes from all the stalls and events was £1,567.79.

There are many, many people to thank for their contribution to the event: All those who spent so much effort making a scarecrow; those who manned the refreshment tent, the Church and the Chapel; the cake-bakers; all the judges; the Helping Hands committee who organised the Scrapheap Challenge; the Hobbies Group for their exhibition; the stallholders; the Humes for allowing their field to be used as a car park; Lynn Evans for her wonderful artwork, as always; and the Parish Council for their support.

The 2007 Scarecrow Team: Adrian, Alistair, Anita, Carolyn, Ena, Liz, Philippa, Valerie.

Click here for the Scarecrow Galleries 2007!

Scarecrow Festival: Results

The main scarecrow entries were judged in Oscar-style categories, to fit in with the “Scarecrows at the Movies” theme. The winners were:

Best Actor: Wallace by Tam Turek; Best Supporting Actor: Darth Vader by Quicksilva Software Solutions; Best Actress: Mary Poppins by Valerie Young; Best Supporting Actress: Marilyn Monroe made by Steve Howe on behalf of Penny and David Hume who bought his services at the School Promises Auction; Best Film: Dr No, by Viv Wallace; Best Wardrobe: The African Queen by Anne and John Gill; Best Film Score: Pirates of the Caribbean by The Ashman family; Best Special Effects: Singing in the Rain by Steve Howe; Best Comedy: Wind in the Willows by Kate and Will Bicknell.

The children’s awards went to: 1st: Jack Sparrow by Charlie Howe; 2nd: Sponge Bob Square Pants by Izzy Blair; 3rd: Hagrid by Daisy Hawkins.

The People’s Choice Award, voted for by the visiting public, went to Singing in the Rain by Steve Howe. (Runners up were Wallace, Pirates of the Caribbean and Mary Poppins.)

The Scarecrow Scrapheap Challenge winners were: 1st: Robin Hood by Steve, Charlie, Nicki and Dave; 2nd: Bend it Like Beckham by Alistair, Tom, Helen and Margaret (and youngsters Oliver and Jenny); 3rd: The Bishop by Matthew, Ruth, Laura and Mark.

The answer to the Scarecrow Trail anagram was “The Sound of Music”. The prize for the first correct answer drawn went to Bryant Vincent. The winner drawn from those who voted for the People’s Choice was The Gurr family.

The Scarecrow Awards Ceremony on Sunday afternoon was rather fun. The red carpet (donated by Carpet Barn – thank you) and the dinner jackets worn by Adrian and Steve added some glamour to the occasion! All the winners were there to collect their statuettes and a good crowd cheered them on. Thank you to Mr Eddy Shah for presenting the prizes.

Click here for the Scarecrow Galleries 2007!

Scarecrow thoughts

A couple of weeks before the scarecrow weekend, I was having serious doubts. It seemed hard work to crank up support. Perhaps scarecrows had had their day and it was time to pack it in.

Then on the weekend itself, there were people everywhere. Villagers were out and about; visitors were enjoying themselves; and all ages were included. There was a great feeling of community and fun. So many people joined together to make the event a success.

And I thought: what other event does the same for the village? In the absence of anything else, we do have to carry on!

You also can’t ignore the fact that over £1,500 was raised for a variety of good causes.

The Scarecrow Festival has grown and includes a greater variety of activities than when it started. At our review-of-the-weekend-meeting, we decided there is still more potential and have some new ideas for next year. Did you enjoy the weekend? Do you have any other ideas? – for a theme or an activity? Any ideas are welcome without having to join “the committee” but if you would like to get more involved you would be very welcome. We are a friendly team!

Valerie Young (750362)