Leap Scarecrow Festival winners are announced

By Emma Connolly

THIS year’s Leap Scarecrow Festival has been deemed another resounding success, with organisers already looking ahead to 2018. 

Chairperson Rita Ryan, who came up with the idea, said they had entries from all over West Cork, including Leap’s new parish priest Fr Kevin Blade, whose parochial house won first prize in the Premises category. ‘He put in a great effort and his house and gardens were magical,’ said Rita.

Overall winner was Kloe Wood who grew up at the Ewe Experience in Glengarriff and now runs Two Green Shoots. which organises wild forest feasts, workshops and garden design. 

There was a great response from schools too, with Skibbereen Community College winning the technical prize, and Leap NS taking first prize in the Youth and Schools category. 

This was the third year of the event, which Rita was originally inspired to organise after seeing figurines around the square in her native Thurles. 

She remembered her secretary Toni McDermott who passed away this summer and whose presence she missed terribly this year, she said.