Manuden Scarecrow Trail on 'Best of British' theme raises £5,000
Tina Leach’s straw depiction of Wallace and Gromit flying over a hedge in an aeroplane was the winning model at the Manuden Scarecrow Trail.
Around 3,000 visitors went along to the picturesque village during the three-day event, which started on Friday May 31 and ended on Sunday June 2.
The festival, now in its fifth year, attracts more and more visitors each year, and this time there were 39 scarecrow displays for them to peruse – the highest number of entries to date.
Event organiser Hanna Barraclough said: “We're absolutely delighted with the success of this year’s scarecrow trail. The sun shone, visitors flooded through and villagers fully embraced this year’s theme of Best of British with truly wonderful and increasingly interactive creations.”
The festival has attracted fantastic feedback on its Facebook page. Nine-year-old Oliver Pratley earned special praise for his efforts to publicise the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Visitors commended the youngster for his politeness and knowledge of the charity.
His proud mum, Emmadenise, said: “He's done lots of RNLI charity work. He hopes to volunteer as an engineer one day. He stood outside for three days educating the visitors and he loved it. He gave up on his junior league golf competition to attend.”
More than £5,000 was raised for Sands, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society, and for various local causes.
This was generated by selling the 1,000-plus trail maps, costing £2.50 each, at Manuden Village Community Centre, along with the proceeds of a raffle, sale of refreshments and ice creams, various stalls and a bouncy castle.
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