Here's what you need to know about the Leap Scarecrow Festival this Halloween

Now in its ninth year, the festival is an annual celebration that connects locals and visitors together to embrace the spooky season through a range of vibrant indoor and outdoor activities as well as the well-known scarecrow competition.

The event has become a cherished tradition in the region and will take place from Monday, October 21 until Sunday, November 3.

The festival is the brainchild of local resident and visionary Rita Ryan in 2015.

Initially, the festival was an opportunity for locals to get creative around Halloween and design a scarecrow. The number of people taking part each year has steadily increased to the point that over 1,000 people can be seen roaming in the village dressed in their spooky costumes over the week-and-a-half-long event.

For the first time in its nine-year history, this year’s rendition of the Leap Scarecrow Festival will have a theme, which is the Blessing of the Crows. One of the festival organisers Deirdre Barry said the theme will promote the folklore of Leap.

“The theme for the parade this year is the Blessing of the Crows. That’s why we have a crow-type theme going on [with their costumes] with feathers, wings and masks. The crows being very much associated with Leap,” she said.

According to Conor Ó Buachalla, a local storyteller, co-founder of Gormu and festival crew member said the story of the crows means a lot to the people of Leap and others living in neighbouring towns and villages.

“There is a fabulous local lore about crows and Bláth na Gréine, the traditional name for Myross Woods — there was supposedly a chieftain in Bláth na Gréine who wanted to banish the crows.

“He basically set about filling barrels with grain and alcohol and they [the crows] all got drunk, and the chieftain wanted to gather and destroy the crows.

“But another chieftain came in to rescue the crows by buying them,” Conor said.

“I think the theme is a perfect tie-in to the tale as the woods is at the bottom of the village,” he added.

According to local folktales, crows usually do not frequent the woodland area of Bláth na Gréine.

Planning 

Festival organisers plan for the festival several months before the spooky month of October. It includes organisation various activities and creating stunning costumes for people as well as scary scarecrows.

“It started as a bit of a laugh, just throwing scarecrows around and see if people from Clonakilty and Rosscarbery would come visit and have something to do.

“We have people from all over the country come now,” Deirdre added.

The organisers believe the effort gone into planning is worth all the hassle once the festival begins.

“People are so creative and the crowds that come, especially during the bank holiday weekends, are enormous. There could be a couple of thousand people walking up and down the street on the Sunday and Monday of the bank holiday. It’s incredible.” Conor said.

What is there to do?

Well, you can visit the range of scarecrows scattered throughout the village from Monday, October 21.

Visitors can also book their place for ‘A Scare at Samhain’ walk in Bláth na Gréine woodland, which will take place daily until Saturday, November 2.

Far removed from the commercialised veneer of Halloween, this fun and immersive experience dives deep into the authentic roots and local lore of Samhain. Visitors will unearth the tales and traditions surrounding enigmatic creatures like the bean sí, the cailleach and the púca, all set against the backdrop of West Cork's hauntingly beautiful landscape.

The event is expected to last approximately two hours and visitors are advised to reserve their place via gormu.com.

On Tuesday, October 22, visitors are invited to The Leap Inn to witness a local storytelling and poetry session from 7.30pm.

The Harbour Bar is the place to be on Wednesday for festival bingo and a festival quiz on Thursday. Both events kick off at 8.30pm.

It will be Wellness Day in Leap Hall on Friday, October 25. A range of activities from pilates, oracle card readings and art workshops will take place throughout the day. All money raised will go towards improving the playground in Leap.

The jewel in the festival’s crown is the scarecrow competition which attracts entries from all over the country.

This year, the competition has some new category prizes up for grabs.

“The festival is known for the scarecrow competition, and this year we have more category prizes than ever before. People come from far and wide to see the different creations. We also run events during the festival which offer a further element of fun and entertainment to keep everybody happy,” Conor said.

The winners of the scarecrow competition will be celebrated outside the Harbour Bar on the Bank Holiday Monday.

“The scarecrow competition is something people care about. You can hear people talking about the plan for their scarecrow around the village,” Deirdre added.

The terrifying Oíche Shamhna Experience in Bláth na Gréine will take place on Halloween night. The walk will take those brave enough down Ireland’s most haunted Slí na Sí, which, according to local folklore is the place for nightly ghost funerals. Pre-booking your place at leapscarecrowfestival.com is a must.

The full list of activities can be found on leapscarecrowfestival.com.

Community spirit

Students from Leap National School told the Irish Examiner that they are very excited for the festival to start.

One child loudly stated they enjoy dressing up and eating sweets.

Principal Mary Crowley said the students would engage in a stroll around the village observing the scarecrows and once they return to their school, a well-deserved Halloween party takes place.

According to Deirdre, the festival is growing legs, which motivates the crew to improve each year.

“I wouldn’t say pressure but there is a need to improve every year because people around the village will be asking each other what their scarecrow plan is, what their costume will be etc. it is growing legs,” she said.

Visit leapscarecrowfestival.com for more information.