The 2020 Scarecrow Festival held in lockdown broke all records, exceeded all possible expectations and set the bar high! How could we follow that? But the people of Haddenham took up the challenge once again. I'm really proud of our village for putting on another fantastic show of creativity for our 6th annual event.
In the end there were over 100 incredible creations. The Festival has never been run as a competition, and every single entry was valued, created with care, humour and community spirit. Thank you to everyone for taking part – each creator will receive a Certificate of Participation.
Generous donations in aid of the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity have been made on our Justgiving page, by BACS, via CAF accounts, by cheque and in cash, further boosted by Gift Aid. Taking everything into account, I anticipate that the Festival will raise in excess of our £2000 goal. We will continue to welcome donations until the end of June and will publicise the final total raised next month.
Although not organised as a competition, people were invited to vote for their 3 favourites. The votes have been scrupulously counted and verified. We are grateful to Haddenham Garden Centre for donating Afternoon Tea vouchers to the 3 Scarecrows receiving the most votes, which are ......
1st Favourite – No 14 Fairfieldasaurus by Team Jurassic Close
Families from four households in Fairfield Close worked together to create the largest Scarecrow the Festival has ever seen! Emma Herlihy and neighbour Jenny came up with the idea of making a dinosaur and everyone got involved in different ways.
His body was constructed by Chris from 2 pallets, with fence posts for his legs. His frame and tail were formed with chicken wire and he was stuffed with lots of straw! 15 metres of fabric was used to cover the structure, including old bedsheets dyed green and sewn together with strong carpet thread.
The children made the giant dinosaur egg and other residents worked on the "Jurassic Close" sign.
Emma said "His eyes are made from solar panels, which glow in the dark so he looks a bit creepy at night! We've really enjoyed doing it and are already thinking about what we can do next year!"
2nd Favourite – No 76 Fern Lane Circus by the Residents of Fern Lane
Fern Lane resident, Sarah Heydon came up with the idea of collectively creating a Scarecrow Circus and persuaded 9 households to take part. Every house got involved, even if they didn't make a scarecrow, by decorating the whole street with bunting, banners and circus signs.
Young residents Tilly and Freya enjoyed helping too. Their Mum explained "we all became closer during lockdown via our WhatsApp group and it's been lovely for us all to do something together". The residents already have some ideas about what they can do for the 2022 Festival!
3rd Favourite – No 32 Who's Stolen Mr McGregor's Carrots by Stephanie Green
Stephanie has entered the Scarecrow Festival every year since 2018. Last year's entry "Spiderman Seb" was made for one of her grandsons, Seb. This year, she created her display for 4 year old grandson Rafi, who loves Peter Rabbit. Rafi will be keeping Peter Rabbit, but Stephanie would be very happy to give away the large felt carrots that she made to a nursery, school, playgroup or family. If anyone is interested, contact Francesca 07554 141810 and we'll put you in touch. Stephanie said "I've really enjoyed seeing and talking to so many people who walk by during the Festival, especially the children on their way to and from school. I'll be making next year's display for my granddaughter....and there are 2 more after that so I'm committed for the next three years!"
Including the 3 above, the 10 entries that received the most votes were:
4. Darth Vader by Jackie and Will
5. A Great British Summer Holiday by Cherry Waller
6. The Scarecrow Scarer by Team Brady
7. The Gruffalo and Friends by Margaret & David Ackroyd
8. Mr Potts by Team Tipping/Barrett
9. Mary Poppins meets Sonic by the Pigden Family
10. Robin of Townsend Green by Mr & Mrs Potter
Other popular entries receiving multiple votes were: 'Grandkids Family Holiday', 'Beware the Night Fury', 'Haddenham St Mary's Year 2 Moon Scarecrows', 'Should have gone to Specsavers', 'Vacc-inate, vac-inate, vac-inate', 'The Name's Bond' and 'Neighbourhood Watch'
I saw every single Scarecrow, which were ALL fantastic. We wouldn't have a Festival without you!
This event was created and set up by the Haddenham Association of Scouts and Guides in 2016, initially as a fundraising event, but also to raise the profile of Scouting and Guiding in the village. Sadly there is a shortage of group leaders at the moment and we would love to hear from anyone who could help in any way. On behalf of the Scout and Guide Association, I would like to say a special thank you to:
· Everyone who donated to our cause. We're continuing to welcome donations until the end of June.
· Alan Rose at Haddenham Museum for allowing me to splat dots all over the map he updated for the Haddenham Museum Trust
· Keith Milmer at Haddenham.net for ALL his help with promotion, making the map and list available online and assembling the Gallery of photos
· Sally and team at Blooming Fruity, Jane and staff at Bradmoor Farm, Helen at 70 Stanbridge Road, James at The Bakery, staff and volunteers at the FN Hospice charity shop, for having Trail maps available on your premises and Kate at
Haddenham Garden Centre for taking maps and donating prizes for the 3 Favourite Scarecrows
· Individuals amongst the entrants who took the initiative to go above and beyond, including Karen Ellis who printed off maps and reminders to donate, the Jinks Family who did extra fundraising and provided a water bowl for passing dogs and anyone else who helped that I've missed!
Here are just a few comments from residents:
Thank you so much for the joy of the Scarecrow Festival – Walker Family
Astonishing range and quality of entries – Hilary
What a great selection of scarecrows! – Lynn B
Well done – a great number of fantastic scarecrows again this year extremely difficult to choose and we have walked around to see them all – Maggie
Another wonderful display of scarecrows this year and it gets harder to pick 3 favourites – Laura
Just wanted to say thank you to the organisers for a brilliant scarecrow festival. We have really enjoyed viewing all the various exhibits. – Tony & Doreen
Congratulations on another great festival – Richard H
So many amazing and creative entries. We had so much fun going round them, thank you for organising! – Isabel
Such a good village event and a great community effort to make so many fantastic scarecrows! A special mention for all the families who made a mini-beast for the orchard – Diccon
Lovely fun walk around your pretty village spotting the scarecrows. Such a great community activity – a pity about the weather. Well done everybody who took part! – Ali
We always enjoy walking and cycling round the village looking for the scarecrows and the money raised goes to such a good local cause. Well done everyone who created a scarecrow this year! – Philippa & Les
I'm so looking forward to next year already!
Francesca Flaxton
25 June 2021
