Festival is one to crow about!
ALLESTREE was gripped by a thrilling contest at the weekend as dozens of houses and businesses took part in the village’s third annual Scarecrow Festival.
The event, which began in 2019 and even managed to take place during the height of the pandemic in 2020, saw hundreds take on the walk around the village to tick off each of the weird and wonderful scarecrows, with more than 40 different entries.
The festival raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support, raising more than £2,000 in its first two years, with the money still being counted from 2021.
Some visitors had reportedly travelled from as far as York and Sheffield to take part.
The event was created by a local couple, Kieron McGeehan and Charlotte Morgan. Mr McGeehan said the event had three objectives - to promote the businesses of Allestree, to raise money for charity and to put smiles on faces.
They were helped by Mark and Diane Dunkley, landlord and lady of the Red Cow pub on St. Edmund’s Close, which became the event headquarters.
Kieron said “the community have been amazing”, even during the pandemic, where dozens of houses put scarecrows outside.
The Red Cow and the village hall hosted several trade stalls, as well as a bouncy castle, raffle and barbecue.
Diane said: “It’s a nice thing for the village. There are not many community events in the village so we thought we would start one off!
“We’ve missed that sense of camaraderie. That sense of community has always been here, right through the pandemic in the village everyone’s been fantastic with each other.”
Local councillor Ged Potter described the event as “absolutely amazing” and said that it had “kickstarted the community spirit that was evident before Covid”.