Some background information:
Langwathby's first Scarecrow Festival was held in 2004 and was so successful there was never any doubt about it becoming an annual event. That year £4,000 was raised for the Village Hall restoration fund but more importantly everyone, visitors and locals alike had an enjoyable time. Over 100 scarecrows in different guises appeared in people's gardens, on the Village Green and by the roadside. We were indebted to Jenny Howarth, one of the organisers of the famous Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival who came over to run two highly successful workshops to show people how to make scarecrows. David Maclean, our local MP officially opened the Festival and toured the Scarecrow trail on the Fellrunner community bus which ran an all day 'hail and ride' service.
2005's Festival was bigger and even more successful. The money raised, again for the Village Hall, was £7,125 and this time well over 150 scarecrows turned out. David Maclean made a return visit and was again impressed by the standard of the scarecrows, some of which were true works of art. In addition to the Scarecrows we held children's activities and games and had a bouncy castle. The village church had an exhibition of past May Day parades and a congregation of scarecrows held a two day vigil! The weather was so good the icecream sellers were in danger of running out of supplies!
The 2006 Festival was equally good. Although there was no theme for our Festival many people were inspired by topical ideas including the World Cup, John Prescott and 'Twinkle' the runaway porcupine.
A Brief history of the Scarecrow
What we normally think of as a scarecrow is a relatively modern creation, dating back just a few hundred years but a form of scarecrow was used by the Ancient Greeks. Statues of Priapus, the God of farmers, beekeepers and vine growers, were used in fields as scarecrows as well as for worship. The Romans copied the idea and transported field statues to the lands they conquered, thereby introducing the concept to the French, Germans, Swiss and English. Many centuries later, the English began creating figures stuffed with straw, topped by heads carved from turnips or gourds. The English and other European immigrants took their scarecrow customs to North America and over time became a form of folk art. From this Scarecrow Festivals evolved and these now take place throughout the U.S.A, in Australia, Japan as well as many European countries.
Scarecrow festivals take place in many parts of the United Kingdom and from Spring until Autumn you could visit a festival almost every week. Langwathby has staged three successful Scarecrow Festivals and now is looking forward to the next one in 2008.
