page_title: Urchfont
section_title: The Urchfont Scarecrow Festival
hierarchical_section_title: Urchfont / The Urchfont Scarecrow Festival
caption_attribution_description: English: Urchfont Scarecrow Festival. Ali Baba scarecrow.
context_page_description: Urchfont is a rural village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey to the north of Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, about 7 miles southeast of the market town of Devizes. The hamlet of Cuckoo's Corner is in the northwest of the village; the parish includes the hamlets of Wedhampton and Lydeway. The population of Urchfont taken at the 2011 Census was 1,075.
context_section_description: The Urchfont Scarecrow Festival (a registered charity) was the first of its kind in Wiltshire. While other Wiltshire villages, including local rivals Lacock, have now established their own festivals on a similar model, the Urchfont festival predates them, having been established in 1997, and is amongst the best attended. The idea was first brought to the village by a resident who saw a similar festival in Derbyshire. In its entire history the festival has only been cancelled twice: once in 2001 because of the threat from Foot and Mouth disease and again in 2020 due to COVID-19. Apart from those cancellations the 22 festivals to date have taken place on the weekend of the first bank holiday in May every year, and have grown to become a major local event attracting large numbers of local and national visitors while raising money for local charities and good causes.
  Over 50 themed scarecrows made by villagers are distributed around the village, and visitors can buy a trail map which provides clues as to the identity of each scarecrow. There is also a children's trail and the village is a buzz with festivities.
  Past festivals have included:
  1997–2000 – No theme
  2001 – Cancelled (Foot & Mouth)
  2002 – Characters for the Young at Heart
  2003 – Professions
  2004 – Book Titles
  2005 – Songs & Music
  2006 – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
  2007 – Film Titles
  2008 – Scarecrow Pursuits
  2009 – Musicals – Stage & Screen
  2010 – Pairs
  2011 – Advertisements
  2012 – A, B, C
  2013 – Singers
  2014 – Myths & Legends
  2015 – At the Oscars
  2016 – A World of Firsts
  2017 – From the Sublime to the Ridiculous
  2018 – It's Showtime!
  2019 – Back to the 80's
  2020 – Cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
caption: Urchfont Scarecrow Festival: Ali Baba
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