The famous Minskip scarecrow weekend is back

The village of Minskip, near Boroughbridge, is holding its popular annual Scarecrow Competition on the weekend of August 31 and September 1.

The competition, which has established a fine reputation during the past few of years, sees almost the entire village making scarecrows that line the main street in a blaze of colour throughout the weekend.

This year’s theme is When I Grow Up, I Want To Be….and the competition will be judged, like last year, by Radio York’s Elly Fiorentini.

One of the main organisers Debbie Hargreaves explained: “As the main fundraiser for St John’s Church, the event has grown hugely since its inception four years ago. Winners will be announced in the church garden on the Sunday afternoon. We are so grateful to Elly and Radio York for their fantastic support and help in publicising the event.

“It’s absolutely wonderful how so many villagers have made scarecrows in the past and I expect the same this year. The competition has really caught the imagination in recent years of the village and the standard is incredibly high. It’s great fun and all proceeds from the competition go towards our little church, which, like so many rural churches, is desperately in need of money.

“Apart from raising money for the church, the Scarecrow Competition is a brilliant way of creating and enhancing community spirit within Minskip. We pride ourselves on being a friendly and welcoming village and this weekend is a great example of this,” said Debbie.

“Please come along and join in the fun and help support our lovely little church. We will have the usual delicious home-baked cakes and tea/coffee on offer on both days of the weekend (12-4pm) in the Church garden, along with ice creams and hot dogs on Saturday. Then alongside the cakes, there will be ice creams, Pimms and a barbecue on Sunday (again 12-4pm). Other stalls on Sunday will include a tombola and a pre-loved stall.”

“We will have car parking in the village field, so pop along and see the exhibits then call in for a cuppa and a bite to eat as you go round. We look forward to welcoming you all.”

The suggested entry fee is £10 and prizes have been donated by three Minskip businesses: The Wild Swan Inn, Peacock Brothers Haulage and Minskip Garage.

“I’d like to thank all three for their generosity,” said Debbie. “They are all committed to our local community and we are very grateful to them.”

Debbie concluded: “I’m sure that this special weekend will mean that Minskip, once again, will be the talking point of the local area, cementing our reputation as the one of the finest creators of scarecrows in the whole of North Yorkshire.”

Robert Beaumont, churchwarden of Minskip Church, added: “I’d like to thank Debbie and her team for all their hard work, enthusiasm and imagination in creating this fantastic weekend. It will raise much-needed money for our lovely little church and help to keep it as a vibrant part of our village community.”

Previous Minskip Scarecrow Weekends have featured the Olympics, Pantomimes, Disney and Nursery Rhymes as themes.