It’s time for the annual Wetwang Scarecrow Festival! This year is the 9th one, with funds raised going to support community events and general upkeep of the village hall.
Many of the village’s residents and businesses enter scarecrows in the competition which are displayed dotted around the village streets, on rooftops and in people’s gardens. This creates a walking ‘scarecrow trail’ that you can follow – maps available from the village hall for 50p to make sure you don’t miss any!
The categories this year are ‘novelty’, ‘traditional’ and ‘royal occasions’ with all sorts, from royal wedding guests to postman pat, nursery rhymes and pop stars. We particularly liked the Gruffalo entry and Crow-ella Dee-vil complete with scarecrow dalmation pup! It was clear that a lot of work had gone into all the entries and it was lovely to see lots of families enjoying the sights.
A panel of judges votes on the winners for various categories but anyone who visits can also cast their vote in the ‘public vote’ which gets announced at the end of the week.
In the hall there is also the ‘scarecrow cafe’, various craft stalls, and a tombola. I can recommend the sandwiches and cakes, (homemade by volunteers) which were delicious and cheap – less than £5 for sandwich, salad & crisps, cake, drink and a scarecrow biscuit for the little miss 
The festival is on until June 5th, with the hall and scarecrow cafe open 10-4 daily. Although it’s around 50 miles from Leeds, it was well worth the day trip to see something a bit different.
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