- The Hicks family gathered to discuss which scarecrow to enter for the Wherrol Flat and Caparra Spring Fair’s scarecrow festival
- The event started during COVID to lift spirits and connect the 300-person community so they could support each other
- After watching Raygun perform at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Hicks’ decided to create ‘Crowgun’, a breakdancing scarecrow
- Crowgun was entered among many other great scarecrows, such as Marilyn Monroe, The Village People and The Wizard of Oz gang
- Jessica Hicks, from Wherrol Flat, NSW, tells her story of Crowgun’s creation and how successful she was…
Sitting around the dining table, our family put our thinking caps on to come up with an idea for a scarecrow to enter for the 2024 Wherrol Flat and Caparra Spring Fair.
“Are we sticking with the sports theme, or are we doing something different this year?” I asked my hubby, Shannon, 41, and our four children, Pearl, 10, Reuben, eight, Vincent, five, and Teddy, one.
In previous years we’d made Kelly Slater the surfing crow, and the whole Australian cricket team, in scarecrow form.
Our property had previously been the home ground for the Wherrol Flat Cricket Club, which is where the sporting theme had originally come from.
“I think we should stick to sports, since it was the Olympics this year,” Shannon said.
The scarecrow festival had started during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, in an attempt to lift people’s spirits.
Read: Best country wedding ever – it came with heavy machinery!
The area also went through the Black Summer bushfires, where 13 homes were lost. The festival was a way to connect the 300-person community so they could support each other.
It was a hit, and had become an annual event, getting bigger each year, with around 50 scarecrows being entered in 2023.
As well as the scarecrow display, dotted along a 14km section of road, there are market stalls, games, food and entertainment.
And all the money made goes back into community projects.
This year, it would be the community hall.
The scarecrows are judged on different categories, such as the funniest and the most traditional.
There’s also the ‘people’s choice’ award where people can pay to vote.
“Why don’t we make Crowgun this year?” Pearl suggested.
The idea was a nod to Australian breakdancer Rachael Louise Gunn, 37, known as Raygun, who became famous after her performance in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“That’s a great idea,” I said.
With a wheelbarrow of hay and a parachute tracksuit we found at our local op shop, we got to work putting Crowgun together.
Trying to get her into an upside-down breakdancing position took trial and error, but we got there eventually with the help of metal wire, which enabled us to bend the body around it.
When the day came, we took Crowgun and placed her in the field among the other scarecrows.
There were so many great entries – Marilyn Monroe, the Village People, a huntsman spider, Wherrol’s Wally, and the characters from The Wizard of Oz, among many others.
“The spider is terrifying,” said Pearl, wide-eyed.
The day itself was so much fun and we all had a great time catching up with our neighbours.
A lot of people live on farms, and until this event started, we’d never even met many of them before, despite them living so close by.
When our breakdancing Crowgun was announced as the winner of the ‘Funniest’ scarecrow category, the whole family leapt with joy.
“Such a good idea,” I praised Pearl, who was delighted with herself.
We’re already starting to brainstorm for this year!
We might stick to the sports theme, or do something different.
I’d encourage other rural communities to do something similar.
It’s the best thing to happen to our town.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
