It was another successful Halloween season for the Leap Scarecrow Festival, with claims it was their biggest year yet.
“Last year, which was our tenth-year anniversary, it was our largest year and we thought it can’t get much bigger than that,” said Deirdre Barry, the public relations officer on the organising committee.
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“But I think it may have surpassed that, I think we may have as large crowds as we had last year. So, the notoriety of Leap Scarecrow Festival has really grown.”
This year’s overall winner was Lukas Ungerer for his creation The Beast, which was displayed outside the Leap Inn throughout October. The town was full of imaginative, scary and amusing scarecrows with the organisers praising the entrants’ creativity.
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Rev Cliff Jeffers, also a member of the committee, made sure to thank the festival sponsors and local community for their support.
“Cork County Council, of course, is the main sponsor. But all of the sponsors, we're very grateful for all their support. And not just their financial support, but their encouragement and involvement as well. All the local businesses just pitch in and give us a hand, which is really good.”
He said throughout the month the church hosted events, with a puppet show and craft days for the children being a particular highlight. Conor Ó Buachalla, a committee member and owner of Gormú eco-adventures, said that while the event takes a lot of planning, with meetings beginning back in January, it’s all for a worthy cause.
“It's really about raising money for good causes locally; local charities, schools, clubs, societies, things like that for the Leap village and surrounding area.”
