MORE than 100 scarecrows are appearing all over two York communities as their first scarecrow festival in three years is staged over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

The 14th Haxby and Wigginton Scarecrow Festival has attracted 115 entries, featuring everything from the Queen to Minions, which are appearing outside shops, pubs, estate agents and churches, and also inside residents' gardens.

The event looks set to raise up to £5,000 for several charities, with most of the money raised through the sale of several scarecrow trail maps which are being sold each day between 10am and 4.30pm at Haxby and Wigginton Methodist Church, which came up with the idea of the festival back in the early noughties.

Hot and cold drinks, and light breakfasts, lunches, teas are also available at the church each day until 5.30pm.

One of the festival organisers, Robin Rigby, said the festival had been called off for the past two years because of Covid and it was good to be able to stage it once again.

He said it was a great way for neighbours to get out and walk through the streets, and socialise and chat to each other.

He said people chose a range of themes for their scarecrows, including Royalty, stars of |TV and film, and footballers.

He said the festival had raised about £30,000 over the years for charities, and was this year supporting four charities, one of which was chosen only recently following the war in Ukraine: the Ukraine Emergency Appeal, organised by All We Can and the Methodist Church in Britain.

The festival was also raising money for HOPING Street Kitchen, The Helping Other People In Need Group Street Kitchen, whose volunteers served hot home-cooked meals and drinks from their pop-up kitchen to the homeless and in need in York, and provide food bank items and essential supplies for the homeless.

Another charity supported by the festival was Shine21, a charity based in North Yorkshire which offered support for children aged 5 and under with Down’s Syndrome.

Another beneficiary was OSCAR’s Paediatric Brain Tumour Charity, a charity funding critical research into paediatric brain tumours with the hope of finding a cure and less devastating treatments. The charity's new manager, Phil Martinez, had a scarecrow and a stall at the church today.

*The festival continues tomorrow and on Monday.