Sir Gavin Williamson recently attended the Pattingham Scarecrow Festival in Pattingham Village Hall to meet with the steering committee of the event, and to take a look at all the fabulous scarecrows on show.
The festival, which is also a fundraising event, has a history of raising substantial funds for the local school, St Chad’s Church of England School, as well as St Chad’s Church itself. In 2021, the event raised £8,990 which contributed to the creation of an adult gym on the village playing fields, and renovations on the west end door of the Church. This year, the event hopes to raise funds for a village project as well as continued upkeep of the Church and School. The festival has been a central pillar to the community’s spirit for many years, and encourages people of all ages to get crafty. The event celebrates Pattingham’s historical beginnings as a farming community, and is an opportunity for locals to take pride in their ancestral tradition.
Sir Gavin chatted to scarecrow makers who came in from around the local area, and took part in the festival’s trail, a route along which over 100 scarecrows had been dotted about.
Sir Gavin said: “It was such a pleasure to see so many fantastic scarecrows at the festival, the families of Pattingham truly are very creative. I’m so glad that everyone involved had enormous fun crafting, and it’s brilliant to hear that the funds raised will go towards such a good cause. I’ll look forward to it again next year!”