Some of you may have seen that various villages in Northumberland are regularly invaded
by scarecrows of all shapes, sizes and designs. The nearest to us is Whitley Chapel
where every other year the area is host to some amusing and very clever creations.
A map of the scarecrows locations is sold from the village hall and people roam far
and wide over Hexhamshire discovering the scarecrows and trying to unravel the answers
to clues attached to them. There is a small prize for the first one back with all
the correct answers and there is also a prize for the best scarecrow. The people
that make the scarecrows have fun, the scarecrow hunters have fun, people are drawn
to the area, Dipton Mill pub gets business and some money from the sale of scarecrow
maps is raised for village causes.
So…. Why don't the villages of Warden, Fourstones and Newbrough have a scarecrow
trail? The trail would be set up for the week before the Stanegate Festival on Saturday
June 29th and the competition would end on the day of the festival. The scarecrows
are only limited by your imagination and materials to hand. As for the competition
side of it we will need a team of judges for the best scarecrow and someone to produce
the map and the questions for the scarecrows, usually there is a set of adult and
a set of children's questions.
If you are interested in being involved either in producing a scarecrow or in being
involved in the judging/competition etc. please contact me on iain@stanegatefestival.co.uk
