Saturday April 10 – Sunday April 25 (School Holidays) 2027
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 in 2026, all generations came into their own with the theme of: Once Upon a Time (famous fairytale characters).
Next year’s theme (2027) will be announced in February so keep an eye on this page or our socials to be in the know!
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 family activities, including the Enchanted Forest Walk, the local Skate Park and lots more. There’s a great range of cafes and restaurants to keep you going, or why not try out the popular Ōpuke Thermal Pools and Spa and treat yourself to some well deserved relaxation after all that walking around the area!
2026 Methven Scarecrow Trail Images
How many scarecrow characters did you get right? Check your guesses against the correct answers below.
Here are the official answers for the 2026 Scarecrow Trail! Not that many of you will need them… a huge 120 entries nailed every single one. To put that into perspective, the previous record was just 59 back in 2022 — and back in 2017, only 12 people got them all right.
Safe to say, this year’s trail had some seriously sharp-eyed participants!
As always, we like to play fair — so we were generous with answers where the meaning was clear. If the number wasn’t obvious on one character or the spelling got a little creative, we gave it the benefit of the doubt
#1 Thumbelina
#2 Shrek
#3 Evil Queen
#4 The Pied Piper
#5 Ugly Duckling
#6 Snow White
#7 The Cheshire Cat
#8 Three Little Pigs
#9 Eyeore
#10 Puss in Boots
#11 Piglet
#12 Belle
#13 Hansel & Gretel
#14 Moana
#15 Moonface
#16 Queen of Hearts
#17 Gingerbread Man
#18 Pinnochio
#19 Magic Mirror
#20 The Three Bears
#21 Fairy Godmother
#22 Jack (and the Beanstalk)
#23 Rapunzel
#24 Little Red Riding Hood
#25 Big Bad Wolf
#26 Tinkerbell
#27 Rumplestiltskin
#28 Mad Hatter
#29 Peter Pan
#30 Jack Frost
#31 Three Billy Goats Gruff
2026 winners
The overwhelming winner by a landslide this year is:
#2 – Shrek by Todd Holmes. What a MONSTER effort haha…
The winner for the fourth consecutive year, Todd’s creations are getting bigger and better each year and we can’t wait to see what he comes up with next year.
WINNER – Shrek made by Todd at Jackson Holmes Congratulations!
Prizewinners
1st – #2 Shrek (Todd Holmes)
2nd – #15 Moonface (Mt Hutt College)
3rd – #13 – Hansel & Gretel (Our Lady of the Snows)
Top Ten Awards
1st – Shrek (Todd Holmes)
2nd – Moonface (Mt Hutt College)
3rd – Hansel & Gretel (OLS)
4th – Three Billy Goats Gruff (Leap Ahead)
5th – Eeyore (St John’s Church)
6th – Belle (Playcentre)
7th – Pied Piper (PGG Wrightson)
8th – Evil Queen (Brown Pub)
9th= Gingerbread Man (MPS)
9th= Pinocchio (MPS)
Judges Special Awards
Three Billy Goats Gruff (Leap Ahead)
Eeyore (St Johns Church)
Evil Queen (The Brown Pub)
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