Loughton Scarecrow Trail
29th June to 6th July 2013
Summary
For
this summer’s fundraising event, All Saints’ Church in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, is planning to host a
Scarecrow Trail within Loughton during late June and early July. The vision is
that the event will offer far more than just fundraising, but will also afford
a fun focus for outreach and building community, especially with local schools.
Julienne Thom is organising the event on behalf of the church.
Background to the event
All Saints’ Church Loughton in Milton Keynes has provided a focus for local village
life since the early 13th century. However, it costs the membership
of seventy-five about £1000 a week to keep the church running and, especially
during these difficult economic times, income is failing to keep pace with
expenditure.
All Saints’ normally holds two major fundraising events each year:
a Christmas Fair in early December and a summer Flower Festival or Open Gardens
Scheme. For a change, this summer’s fundraising event will take the form of a Scarecrow
Trail.
What is a Scarecrow
Trail?
In essence, a scarecrow trail is a display of scarecrows built by
local people and displayed in prominent positions within their gardens or
business premises so that they can be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike.
To guide people around the trail, the positions of all the scarecrows are located
on a map and the exhibits are connected together into an efficient, attractive
circular route that uses public roads and pathways.
How will a trail work
in Loughton?
Although this is a church initiative, the vision is that this will
be an inclusive event that the whole community of Loughton, Great Holm and the
other parish grid squares can get involved in over the coming months.
It is proposed that visitors will be welcomed to Loughton’s scarecrow
trail between Saturday 29th June and Saturday 6th July,
during daylight hours. The trail will start and finish at All Saints’ Church,
incorporating Loughton’s conservation area but extending beyond it, depending
on the addresses of the scarecrows’ exhibitors.
Scarecrow building will be competitive, with rosettes and prizes
awarded by an independent judge for the best scarecrows in five categories;
children, adults, businesses, schools and the ‘Visitors’ Choice’. Sponsorship
will be sought from local organizations, providing a fun opportunity for them
to publicize their businesses.
Competition entry will be open to adults, children, businesses and
organizations based in the parish of Loughton, and to anyone who attends All
Saints’. Scarecrows made by exhibitors who either live outside Loughton or
reside at locations that cannot easily be accommodated on the trail, will be
displayed at All Saints’ Church or in gardens along the route that are willing
to host a scarecrow.
Organisations like the local schools and Loughton’s social club
may also wish to join in, so adding even greater community value to the event.
The Parish Council and All Saints’ Congregational Meeting have given the
proposal their unanimous support.
The nitty gritty
There is no overall theme for the trail, so entries can be on any
subject, provided that they are in good taste, appropriate for a family event
and unlikely to offend. Witty, amusing entries will be encouraged. Scarecrows
can be made from any materials and recycling is encouraged, though they need to
be resistant to the vagaries of an English summer!
Julienne Thom will organize one or more scarecrow making workshops
nearer to the event, if there is sufficient demand. There will be a small
charge for the materials used during each workshop, which will be donated to
the church.
To register a scarecrow into a competition and have it recorded on
the trail, competitors will need to complete an entry form and return it to the
organiser by May 1st 2013. A website will be launched in Spring 2013
to support the event, and an entry form will be available to download from this
in due course. An entry fee of £3.00 will be charged for scarecrows made by
individuals, or £10.00 for each scarecrow made by a business. All the entry
fees will be donated to All Saints’ Church funds.
Once we have received an entry form, competitors will be allocated
an official competition number, which should be displayed clearly on your
scarecrow. This will be used to identify entries on Loughton’s scarecrow trail
map and for judging purposes. If you enter but are subsequently unable to make
a scarecrow, please let the organizer know so that your details can be removed
from the trail map.
When considering how to display your scarecrow please remember to
keep your scarecrow on your own property and ensure it is easily visible from
the public highway. Visitors should not need to enter your property.
Consider your own safely and that of visitors when deciding where
to hang, mount or display your scarecrow. The organizer will not be liable for
any claims, loss, damage or injury associated with the scarecrow trail. You may
wish to take your scarecrow in after dark to prevent damage or nocturnal
wandering!
Your scarecrow will need to be exhibition ready and in place by
noon on Friday June 28th, when judging will take place. An
independent judge will view all the scarecrows and select the competition
winners. These will be awarded a rosette, which should be placed on the
scarecrow whilst the trail is open. The judge’s decision is final.
Trail leaflets will be available for purchase at All Saints’
Church on 29th and 30th June and 6th July between
1.00 p.m. and 5.00 p.m., and from 7 Lucy Lane, Loughton, by prior arrangement
at other times whilst the trail is open, at a nominal cost of £1.00, with all
proceeds going to the church.
As well as locating the scarecrows and suggesting a trail that
takes them all in, this will provide a quiz to test observational skills and
give an opportunity for visitors to vote for their favourite scarecrow.
Visitors can walk or cycle right around the trail or take in a few scarecrows
each day. Everyone who visits all the scarecrows and successfully completes the
quiz will be awarded a certificate.
As with the Open Gardens Scheme, other events (scarecrow making
workshop, cream teas, raffle, plant stall, craft stall, shared meal and barn
dance, scarecrow auction, introduction to the Jubilee Graveyard) will be
associated with the trail so there will be opportunities to become involved in
a variety of ways.
The Visitors’ Choice will be announced at an evening event on 6th
July, hosted at All Saints’ Church. This may include a shared meal, some
entertainment and possibly an auction of scarecrows. The names of all the
sponsors and prizewinners, and photos of all the entries will be displayed afterwards
on the All Saints Church website as a legacy of the trail.
In conclusion, making a scarecrow
need not be expensive or time consuming. It is a fun activity that is suitable
for children as well as creatively minded adults. It does not require a high
level of skill and the only limit is that of imagination, so why not join in?
How
can I become involved?
If you are a local resident you can:
·
Build
a scarecrow and enter it into the competitions;
·
Host
a scarecrow built by someone else in your garden;
·
Contribute
to one of the ancillary fundraising events;
·
Follow
Loughton’s scarecrow trail whilst it is open between Saturday 29th June
and Saturday 6th July.
If you are a local school or children’s
organization you can:
·
Build
a scarecrow and enter it into the competitions;
·
Use
the event as a springboard to organize fundraising events of your own.
If you are a local organization or business
you can:
·
Build
a scarecrow to promote your organization and enter it into the category for
local businesses;
·
Sponsor
a scarecrow built by someone else to advertise your business;
·
Sponsor
a competition or raffle prize;
·
Sponsor
scarecrow building by a school or children’s organization;
·
Match
the funds raised by the whole or part of the event.
Who
should I contact for further information?
If you have any comments or suggestions to make, require further
information or would like to take part in Loughton’s scarecrow trail, please
contact Julienne by phone on 01908 696072 or drop her an email at j.hanson@ucl.ac.uk.
If you would like to participate, please fill in an entry form (see below or downloadable from the Loughton Residents' Association website) and return it to me by May 1st.
LOUGHTON SCARECROW TRAIL
29th June –
6th July 2013
ENTRY FORM
Closing date for entries May 1st 2013
|
Name of Individual, Business, School or Organisation exhibiting
the Scarecrow
………………………………………………………………..
Your Contact Address ……………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………..
Postcode
Contact Phone Number………………………………
E-mail (if applicable)……………………………….
If already known, give the location at which the Scarecrow will be
displayed, if not at the address above
…………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………
Postcode
If you live outside Loughton, would
you like us to arrange for your Scarecrow to be hosted at All Saints’, or at an
address along the Scarecrow Trail? Yes/ No
Please circle the category in which your entry should be judged:
1)
Adult
/ Family Private
2)
Child
/ Children under 18 Private
3)
Business
/ Organisation
4)
School
/ Children’s Organisation
Title of Your Scarecrow Exhibit
……………………………………………………………….
Entry Fee: £3.00
/ £10.00
Private / Business, Organisation
Please make cheques
payable to All Saints’ Church Loughton DCC
Are you willing for your scarecrow to be sold / auctioned to raise
money for All Saints’ Church?
Yes / No
Please sign below to indicate that you will abide by the
guidelines of the competition.
Signature………………………………………………….
Date…………………………………………………………
Please return this
completed Entry Form to Julienne Thom at 7, Lucy Lane, Loughton, MK5 8EP.
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