News

Barton Mills Scarecrow Festival slated for June 7, 8

  • Published
  • By Vicky Stayton
  • RAF Mildenhall Community Relations Adviser
The first scarecrow festival took place in Barton Mills in 1998. it grew so popular that it attracted thousands of visitors during the two days of the festival. In 1999 Barton Mills was put on the map when it boasted a total of 761 scarecrows putting this quiet Suffolk village in the Guinness Book of Records. This year's festival will take place June 7 and 8.
So what is a scarecrow festival? Is it an age old festival to scare away crows, or is it a mystical British tradition where people dress up as scarecrows to ward off spirits? No, it's neither of those!

The Barton Mills Scarecrow Festival is a fun filled, event-packed, two-day weekend drawing thousands of people from all over East Anglia and further afield bringing local communities together to enjoy music, Morris dancers, charity stalls, children's activities, dog agility show, competitions, barbecue, open gardens and of course lots of scarecrows!

Almost every household in the village participates in the festival by either making a scarecrow person (or other stuffed object). Each scarecrow or object must follow this year's theme "Recycling."  That means each scarecrow must be assembled from items that have had a previous useful life ... oh and straw! 

The Scarecrow will then be put out on display around the village in gardens, on roof tops, in sheds ... you'll be surprised were you'll spot them.

Many village residents will open their beautiful gardens both large and small for your enjoyment. And, along with the open gardens and special events around the village, the Manor gardens will be open for the public to view. While there you can enjoy a cream tea and other refreshments, sitting alongside a recycled wooly mammoth, a sloth, sabertooth tiger, a squirrel and scarecrow penguins all depicting "Ice Age". 

In the village church there will be a flower festival with a twist -- all the flowers will be made out of recyclables.

The scarecrows and gardens can be viewed on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with events starting from Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Saturday night - Family music evening on the playing fields.
Sunday night - Songs of Praise in the Parish Church.

All proceeds from this event will benefit many local charities and also the Barton Mills Parish Church Preservation Trust which exists to maintain the 900-year-old village church.