Help scare the crows in Sneem

THE crows around Sneem are about to have their feathers ruffled over the next few weeks as a major new scarecrow competition is set to take the village by storm. Often described as the ‘unliving who watch over the living crop’, those of a certain vintage will already know of Worzel Gummidge but even for those too young to remember, there’s still something magical, eerie, mystical and creative about scarecrows in the run up to Halloween.

Now is the chance to create your very own scarecrow and take him, or her, along to Sneem village on Saturday, October 29 where judging takes place at 5pm. Some fantastic prizes will be up for grabs for the most creative scarecrows and who knows, perhaps by Halloween you’ll have a champion scarecrow to boast of when trick-ortreaters come a calling!

Davida Bradshaw is the lady behind ‘Scarecrows on the Green in Sneem’ and it’s all thanks to a little family scarecrow who set Davida’s mind on the idea.

“The little sunflower scarecrow in the photo is my mom’s and he really is the inspiration behind the whole idea as I was just sitting here looking at him one day when I thought of it. On top of that, shortly after I strolled down to the ‘Garden of the Senses’ in Sneem and saw another scarecrow. That’s when I thought to myself ‘we should have a competition’ and that was it,” said Davida.

So far there’s been plenty of interest among local school kids and youth club, with local businesses also getting involved by sponsoring prizes and making their own scarecrows. Davida hopes the idea will really take off and become an annual event in the years ahead.

“Hopefully people will get behind it. I have already spoken to the Resource Centre here in Sneem and they said they could provide old clothes they don’t use anymore which might help people to get involved as people might be discouraged when it comes to thinking about what to dress a scarecrow in,” added Davida.

“People don’t have to make the traditional kind of scarecrow that just stands there, they can make one that sits down on a bench or a wall; it’s all about imagination.

“I’m very much into working with the community and having fun through the arts which is what it’s all about. So check out our Facebook page for updates.”

For more info check out ‘Scarecrows on the Green in Sneem’ on Facebook.

BACK ROW: FRONT ROW: Davida Bradshaw, Christine Morley (Sneem Enterprise), Hanah (Business Category from ‘Gossip cafe’), Sharon Evans. Faith Demageat, Rosemary Bradshaw (Individual category entry), Fern Demangeat, Evan and Ryan Breen

These crow and sunflower themed scarecrows are a great example of what can be entered