The Scarecrow Festival usually takes place in the second weekend of September and has a dedicated Facebook page; for news and updates (including competition winners), click here.

Messages from the Scarecrow Committee (Sept 2023):

What another fabulous weekend we had!

After an initial few hiccups, which were soon sorted out, our weekend began with a lighter than usual footfall, largely down to the sweltering heat. As the weekend went on and the weather cooled off slightly on the Sunday, along came the crowds. We literally had thousands! 

Our visitors were treated to nearly 70 scarecrows all depicting various occupations, some were easy to decipher, others took some brain power! 

• The worthy winners were….
• Public vote:
  • 1st  Ken Green- Deep sea diver 
  • 2nd  Patrick and Claire Wadkin -Butcher
  • 3rd  Barbara McEwen – Dog Walker
• Mayor of Rushcliffe vote:
  • Anthony Peet – Gamekeeper and Poacher

The scarecrow committee have really enjoyed bringing this weekend to you each year, but we are very aware that we can’t do it without you. Thank you to everybody who has contributed to the weekend, however big or small. If you would like to join us on the committee next year, we would love to see you! 

Karen Buckley (Chair, Hickling Scarecrow Committee)

VILLAGE HALL: SCARECROW WEEKEND REFRESHMENTS

A huge thank you to everyone who helped with refreshments in the Village Hall during Scarecrow Weekend.

The generosity and skill of everyone who bakes is amazing. Every year I’m bowled over by the number of beautiful cakes given to us.

Setting up the hall on Friday, making bacon cobs, tea and coffee, clearing tables, taking the money, washing up, clearing and cleaning the hall on Sunday evening – the list of jobs is endless but they were all done with such good grace, despite it being the hottest weekend of the year. Did the donation of some bottles of Prosecco to the workers help at all? I couldn’t possibly comment!

So many people are involved that I can’t thank everybody by name but their generosity helped us raise £2,868-21p over the weekend. After expenses we made a profit of £2,073-26p. From that we have donated £500 to this year’s main charity, Rainbows Children’s Hospice. The remainder will go towards the running and maintenance of the Village Hall.

To everyone from Hickling (Kinoulton, Upper Broughton, Nottingham and beyond)

Thank you! You are amazing and we couldn’t do it without you!

Barbara McEwen (On behalf of Hickling Village Hall Committee)

The Answers:

Galleries:

Every single scarecrow was a work of art and it is impossible to pick and choose which photographs to use in the sections, above. We hope that you enjoy scrolling through them all in these galleries and if you would like to add your own photographs of a fabulous weekend, please contact us.

Preparations and general views:

Occupation: Farming

An exhibition of tractors by David Faulks and Richard Collishaw.

Videos:

A flypast by a Hurricane and Spitfire (Saturday 2.30pm) and a Drive-Thru on Sunday morning in a light blue1963 Riley One-Point-Five courtesy of David Pipes and Gael Hepburn from Chesterfield.

The Scarecrows:

Scarecrows 2023 – advert and ideas (July 2023)

If you can help with refreshments at the Village Hall or the Church or with car park duties, please contact the Scarecrow Committee.

Announcing Scarecrows 2023: ‘Occupations’ – 9th & 10th September

(30th April 2023) – a message from the Hickling Scarecrow Festival committee:

“Here at Scarecrow central, we’re busy preparing for this year’s festival

There will be stalls, fairground, street entertainment, beer festival, food and drink and of course Scarecrows!!

This year’s theme is ‘Occupations’ so please save the date. 9th and 10th September 2023

Plenty of car parking will be available for just £3 per car, regardless of the number of passengers (cash only).

See you there!”