Methven Scarecrow Trail
Saturday April 13 – Sunday April 28, 2024
The Methven Scarecrow Trail is a hugely popular and fun family event run in the April school holidays. It is suitable for all ages and this year all generations will come into their own! This year the Trail forms part of the Methven Walking Festival with a great range of awesome walks for all ages and interests.
Every year, members of the Methven community build scarecrows to a particular theme and these scarecrows, usually around 30+ in number, are scattered around the town for families to find and try to identify the name of the character represented by the different characters. Families or small groups purchase a Trail Map/Entry form from the iHub Information Centre and there are sponsored prizes for the most correct entries and for the most popular scarecrows.
The trail is designed to be an activity that can be done easily by walking the route, with a well timed stop for lunch, within a day, but some groups prefer to spread it over several days if they can. We love seeing groups of children of all ages, often with parents and/or grandparents for added input, out walking with their maps trying to guess the correct identities of the scarecrows.
The scarecrows are all located within the town boundaries for safe walking but some young children find the distances a bit long unless they use bikes or scooters. Some groups like to walk the route in the central village and then use the car to find the more remote scarecrows if the small children (or adults) are tired.
Our makers range from the talented and artistic to the enthusiastic and willing and include business owners, families and school and preschool children.
While in Methven there are many other great activities – check out the Methven Things to Do page on the Methven NZ website for some inspiration, the great range of cafes and restaurants to keep you going, or why not try out the popular Opuke Thermal Pools and Spa and treat yourself to some well deserved relaxation after all that walking around the area!
2023 Methven Scarecrow Trail Images & Video
How many scarecrow characters did you get right? Check your guesses against the correct answers below.
Marking the entry forms can be an interesting exercise. We always allow for creative spelling, as long as it is clear you have identified the correct character. Some of you identified the character and named the Nursery Rhyme, just to be sure, but it was the character we needed in order to be correct.
That said, there are some characters that have multiple correct answers because Nursery Rhymes are traditionally a spoken medium and the words can change over time. So Higgety Pickety My Black Hen is sometimes Higgledy Piggledy My Black Hen. We accepted both versions (with spelling variations) and also Black Hen.
For the Ding Dong Bell rhyme, the scarecrow character had so many variations of who took her there, put her in and took her out. It could have been Little Johnny (or Tommy) Hare; Thin or Finn or Flynn or Green; or Stout.
Also tricky to mark, but a lot of fun, was the entry from a French family. Some of the answers were in French like the Trois Petits Cochons and Trois Souris Aveugles and Chat et Chouette. Correct!
So your answers may be marked correct even if they are not exactly the same as the names listed below the images.
Many of you guessed Jack and Jill for #12 and Doggy in the Window for #18. Both of these were good guesses but incorrect. You had missed the clues! #12 Water coming out of the hole in the bucket. #18 The letters B I N G O scattered around near the dog.
We also accepted a number of ‘credible’ answers for #6.
See how many you got correct and keep an eye out for the selected winning entry coming shortly.
#1 Black Sheep
#2 Humpty Dumpty
#3 Incy Wincy Spider
#4 Old Mother Hubbard
#5 (Four and Twenty) Blackbirds
#6 Little Star (Twinkle twinkle)
#7 Three Blind Mice
#8 Queen of Hearts
#9 Daisy Bell
#10 Little Teapot
#11 Jack (be nimble)
#12 Liza
#13 Three Little Pigs
#14 Mary (had a Little Lamb)
#15 The Little One
#16 Ladybird
#17 My Black Hen (Higgeldy Piggledy)
#18 Bingo
#19 The Old Woman (who lived in a shoe)
#20 Johnny Flynn or similar
#21 The Mouse (ran up the clock)
#22 Little Jack Horner
#23 Little Boy Blue
#24 2 Little Dickie Birds (Peter and Paul)
#25 Georgie Porgie
#26 Old MacDonald
#27 The Spoon (and others)
#28 Little Miss Muffet
#29 The Owl and the Pussycat
#30 Old King Cole
#31 The Driver (on the Bus)
#32 Doctor Foster
#33 Little Bo Peep
#34 Five Little Monkeys
2023 WINNERS
A clear winner – 100 votes more than the next one!
The votes are counted and the results are in for the most popular scarecrows. The spectacular winning creation (straw and all) with interactive moving parts, was a joy to behold!
WINNER – Humpty Dumpty made by Todd at Jackson Holmes Congratulations!
Prizewinners
1 – #2 Humpty Dumpty by Jackson Holmes
2 – #5 Blackbird by Deidra O’Shea
3 – #34 Five Little Monkeys by Hannah Kidd Sculpture
Top Ten Awards
4 – #3 Incy Wincy Spider by Kirsty Saxon
5 – #13 Three Little Pigs by Mt Hutt Ski Area
6 – #29 Owl and Pussycat by Ashburton Intermediate
7 – #17 My Black Hen (Hickety Pickety) by Our Lady of The Snows
8 – #20 Daisy Bell by Big Als
9 – #30 Old King Cole by Primo
10 – #31 Driver on the Bus by Garage Gym
Judges Special Award prizes for Creativity:
#13 Three Little Pigs by Mt Hutt Ski Area
#20 Daisy Bell by Big Als
Watch this great short video by Markham Media showcasing the beautiful town of Methven and some serious Scarecrow hunting by a group of locals. This could be you in 2024!
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