Magic and mystery arrives in village
CROWTHORNE residents followed the yellow brick road and enjoyed a range of displays across the village last week.
Organised by Crowthorne Trails, the Magic and Mystery themed event presented 88 outdoor creations for families to enjoy.
The trail, which is put together by a group of parents at Hatchride School, is raising money for the COATS Centre in Crowthorne.
And Pinehurst Care Centre, on Dukes Ride, took part in the trail unveiling its The Wizard of Oz creation.
Victoria Pembroke, activities coordinator at Pinehurst Care Centre, said
they all had a “great time” creating the display.
The staff putting together a house with witch legs coming out, a tornado in the window, rainbows and flowers, witches and lions and a yellow brick road.
And a tin man and scarecrow in a poppy field were made to greet visitors at the care home.
“We feel it has really helped us connect with the Crowthorne community,” she said.
“We have especially loved seeing the faces of everyone walking by and when they stop to look at everything and when we’ve been outside people chat to us and we are getting such wonderful messages from the community
via our Facebook page.
“Our residents have particularly enjoyed getting outside to see it all themselves and have taken the opportunity to sing all of their favourite songs from the film.
Ms Pembroke added that the care home chose The Wizard of Oz to appeal to all ages.
She added: “Our favourite quote from one of our residents after seeing the sign, There’s No Place Like Home, said to us ‘There’s no place like Pinehurst Care home’.”
This year, the trail included QR codes in the windows of participating shops, which, when scanned, took families to a video of an lady reading a story that relates to that specific store.
Organiser Deborah Southgate, said the event went “really well.”
“All the displays this time have been fabulous,” she said.
“We had cake and snack stalls at various points on the trail and lots of people donated food which was lovely.”
Ms Southgate added the trail has been a “real community event”.
“It brings shear joy to residents of all ages, little children love it but it’s also great to be able to include the elderly, which is so special to us.
“Families have been really impressed with the display and we’ve had good feedback from people who appreciate effort in everyone’s creations.”