Apley Farm Shop hosts first ever scarecrow festival
A Shropshire destination is to hold a different type of scare event this Halloween – as scarecrows made by local children go on display.
The first ever scarecrow festival will be held at Apley Farm Shop during half term, with designs submitted from nearby schools, Scouts and Beaver groups and children’s community groups near the site at Norton, on the A442 between Telford and Bridgnorth.
Some of the scarecrows have been designed with sustainability in mind, highlighting how everyday materials can be reused, recycled and reimagined.
There will be more than 20 scarecrows on display for visitors to come and see from October 27 to November 2 and the group that is judged to have designed the top three scarecrows will win a prize.
Linda Harris, Business Development Manager at Apley Estate, said: “We look forward to welcoming families to Apley to come and see all the scarecrows which have been entered – we know there will be some imaginative designs and we can’t wait to see what the children have come up with!
“There have been entries from primary schools, nurseries, scouts and beavers groups and children’s community groups too and we know they are hard at work right now putting their scarecrows together.
“We are pleased to be able to provide prizes in the form of vouchers for art and craft supplies for the top three scarecrows as we know they will go a long way to ensuring children continue to be creative.
“Creative arts is often an area where budgets do not stretch to these days so we at Apley are very happy to be able to give them this opportunity.”
Linda, along with Graeme Manton the Estate Director and Daniel Morton, Operations Manager at Apley, will judge the scarecrows for initiative, design and sustainability.
The group who creates the first prize winning scarecrow will be handed £250 towards art and craft supplies, while second place will get £100 and third place will be awarded £50.
Apley is also the custodian of 1,500 acres of woodland, a further 3,500 acres of in hand farmland farmed to high environmental standards and 3,500 acres of let farmland, as well as award winning wedding venue Stockton House.
The company also runs the popular Apley Farm Shop, which includes a butchery, café and playbarn, and Apley on the High Street, a café in Bridgnorth Town Centre.
Each venture is run and managed with a vision for heritage, environment and community, with each decision carefully considering restoration, sustainability and developing relationships.
For more information about Apley, which sits on the A442 between Telford and Bridgnorth, visit www.apleyestate.co.uk.
