SCARECROW STARS
Amazing film characters await visitors to villages
TRAVEL through the tiny Mid Wales villages of Tregynon and Bettws Cedewain and you might be in for a shock. Lifesize stormtroopers stand guard in the streets, while Pennywise the clown reclines against a nearby fence. There’s Harry Potter, too
“That” dance from Dirty Dancing is recreated on a patch of grass.
And, if that’s not the real Gene Kelly doing Singin’ In The Rain, then it’s a good likeness.
Scarecrows have taken over this corner of rural Powys thanks to an impressive annual competition.
Started only last year, the Bettws and Tregynon Scarecrow Festival first came to life thanks to a brainwave from local community nurse Rhona Farley-Harper.
The principle is simple – people pay £5 to enter their scarecrow into the competition to raise money for the local playgroup.
What was more unexpected, however, was the reaction it got.
“It just took off. We had 80 entries last year,” mother-of-three Rhona said. “People would drive around just to look at them. People came from afar, the postman said he loved to deliver around the area just to look at them all.
“A lot were quite original. We had a pair of legs sticking out of the hedge, there was even a traffic warden.
“Everyone loved that one. It was on a part of the road where people drive quite fast so people were slowing because they could see this person in a high-visibility vest.”
This year the competition has seen around 50 entries – down a little due to bad weather. But the quality is outstanding.
Not bad for a pair of villages boasting one pub and one primary school.
Across this weekend, judges from both villages will visit each scarecrow before the winner is announced tomorrow. Prizes include a meal at the local pub, an MoT voucher and a caravan holiday for eight people.
The theme, as you might be able to guess from the Wizard of Oz’s Tin Man at the village sign, is movies.
Rhona, 33, said: “This year it’s more quality than quantity. Last year it was just scarecrows, so this year I wanted to create a bit of a challenge.
“It’s great community spirit. On our street everyone went outside together to make them and the kids were playing on their bikes.
“There’s an elderly couple opposite us and they have made an Elsa scarecrow from Frozen. I never thought they would have taken part.”
You can see all this year’s entrants and vote for your favourite on the Scarecrow festival’s Facebook page.