Tamborine Mountain Scarecrow Festival 2012 -- Friday 19th to Sunday 21st October

Festival Table of Contents...

Festival Background
Festival Dates
Prizes, Prizes & Prizes!
Street Entertainment
Scarecrow Trail
How to make a Scarecrow
Registration Details
Art Exhibitions
Contact Details

Watch the entertaining video below created by Better Homes & Gardens where the team build a Scarecrow and check out the competition (4:33 minutes).

View the Slideshow below highlighting the variety and type of Scarecrows shown during a typical Tamborine Mountain Scarecrow Festival year (3:12 minutes).


Festival Background

The Tamborine Mountain Scarecrow Festival is an annual welcome-all event for families and everyone who enjoys some fun and a great week-end in our very special environment just over an hour from Brisbane and 30 minutes from the Gold Coast.

The first Scarecrow Festival was held in 2008 and has been growing each year as more local residents, school students and business owners join in the challenge, and fun, of building and exhibiting a scarecrow.

The Scarecrow Festival gives locals and residents the opportunity to explore the Scarecrow Trail and enjoy the Mountain’s charming cafes, handicraft and antique shops, art galleries and wineries.

Watch this entertaining Scarecrow Festival video - Video ( 1:33 minutes)

Visitors can extend their time on the Mountain and enjoy an extra day of fun by staying at one of the local boutique accommodation houses, hotels, motels or camping facilities.

2012 Schedule....

The Scarecrow Festival will be held in Spring this year to take advantage of the fresh weather, blossoming gardens and longer daylight hours.

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Festival Dates

Festival dates are Friday 19th to Sunday 21st October 2012.

October is getting close and plans for the Scarecrow Festival on 19th, 20 and 21st are taking shape. We are going bigger and better this year: more scarecrows, more activities, and more entertainers. Check out our new Festival logo, specially designed to reflect the magical, mystical and little bit quirky character of Tamborine Mountain.

October on the Mountain is beautiful so we’d like to stay out late and enjoy those longer daylight hours and fresh Spring weather by planning some evening activities and entertainment on Friday or Saturday. - maybe some evening stalls on footpaths or forecourts, and some eateries open? Service groups, school associations and social groups are also invited to run some extra fund-raising activities while we have so many visitors on the Mountain.

This year a new award category has been included just for the younger members of our community so they can join the competition but not have to compete with the adults – unless they want to of course. Young people aged 6 to 12 can register in this Kids Only category and add their creations to the Scarecrow Trail, and yes, there will be Kid’s Only prizes!

As per the previous festivals, scarecrows will be out on the Trail by noon on Friday 19th in time for judging, and the entertainment will be on Saturday 20th for Main Street and Sunday 21st for Gallery Walk. This year we’re planning for more of the entertainers to continue into the afternoon & evening.

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Prizes, Prizes & Prizes!

If extra encouragement is needed to build a scarecrow for the Tamborine Mountain Scarecrow Festival in October just look at the prizes available this year!

There are so many fantastic scarecrows at Festival time and all of them deserve to win a prize or win a highly commended award. Due to popular demand this year all the best scarecrows will get the awards they deserve because there will be more categories, more prizes and more opportunities for everyone to participate in the competition. This includes a new Kids Only category for youngsters aged between 6 and 12.

The Scarecrow Festival is a family-focused community event for everyone who lives on, or loves the Mountain, and Tamborine Mountain business owners have put their support behind the Festival again this year by generously donating numerous prizes for the competitions.

The following sponsors are gratefully acknowledged for their contribution to the success of the Scarecrow Festival through their donations to the following prize categories:

THANK YOU sponsors! Your contributions will go a long way to making the Scarecrow Festival 2012 the best yet.

There are still some categories available for sponsorship. If you would like to be a sponsor and contribute to the Festival please contact Pam Lambert on Ph: +61 7 5545 3864.

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Street Entertainment

Free street entertainment will be happening again in Gallery Walk (Long Road) and Main Street.

To keep the street entertainment going during the Scarecrow Festival we are searching out our local talent. Whether professional or amateur, we want to bring that talent to light and add to the fun of the Festival.

Local artists are also invited to display their art at the Festival on Saturday 20th October. This is an opportunity to showcase local creativity and encourage more interest in the arts and crafts scene on Tamborine Mountain.

We would love to hear from local entertainers and artists. Check the Tamborine Mountain Scarecrow Festival site on Facebook and find out how to join the street entertainment or benefit from a display of your art during the Festival.

If you are a busker, street entertainer or musician, or if you would like to provide more input on street activities & entertainment and would like to join in the fun of the Scarecrow Festival, please contact the Entertainment Manager Dean McGill by phone on 0433 167 981 or via email at Scarecrow Festival Entertainment

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Scarecrow Trail

It is expected that there will be in excess of 200 Scarecrows appearing along the 14 km signed trail (see image below)

Click here to save or print a copy of the Scarecrow Trail



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How to make a Scarecrow

There are two ways to make a scarecrow. The first is to decide on a concept or theme and create the scarecrow to match: people who can do this usually don’t need advice about how to make a scarecrow.

The second way is to take a leap of faith, start building and see what happens. This is what most of us do, and somewhere through the process the scarecrow more or less tells us what it will be – and sometimes even gives us his or her name.

Traditional scarecrows are made from a T frame of timber to make the body and arms and then the clothes are put on the T frame and stuffed with straw. The face is usually a bag stuffed with straw and a face painted on. Boots, gloves and a hat complete the picture. It’s a good idea to make sure all the pieces are tied together so that the scarecrow survives a strong breeze.

Tamborine Mountain scarecrows are an individualistic lot and can be made from whatever they please. All you need for a body is something that holds together and will be able to stand up or sit down for three days in a row. A tube of chicken wire makes a great body; old cardboard cartons, packing tubes, pillows or cushions that are past their usefulness; sheets of old plastic or tarpaulins rolled or squashed into shape all make a useful body for your scarecrow. You will probably need lots of tape, rope or wire to make sure that the body is as firm as possible and that it can hold itself up.

Arms and legs are easy because all you have to do is stuff a shirt and pants with old newspaper. If your scarecrow is going to wear a dress or some other costume, use old pantyhose as “skin” for the arms and legs – it is amazing how far and how wide they can stretch! Add some gloves, footwear and a hat – tiaras optional.

Heads are best made from a bag, pantyhose or anything that can have a face painted on. Hair is a personal choice. I particularly like dried kikuyu grass. It makes great whiskers and eyebrows and can be braided into good looking plaits. Best of all, every gardener on the Mountain will welcome your request to remove kikuyu from their yards.

For the more creative among us there is no limit as to what can be turned into a scarecrow. Previous Festivals have included scarecrows made from palm fronds, bird of paradise stems, plastic plant-pots, clean drums (not the musical type), old paint tins and hessian bags. Remember Sponge Bob Scare Pants – two bales of straw and a blue plastic tub! Now that was a touch of brilliance.

It doesn’t matter whether you start with a plan or simply a heap of enthusiasm – just start! The end product will be your own version of a scarecrow and worthy of displaying on the Scarecrow Trail. Not everyone can win Best of Festival, but that is why we have so many other prize categories and a stack of Highly Commended awards. Don’t forget the Kid’s Only category for young people between 6 and 12 years of age.

The Highly Commended category includes family vouchers generously donated by Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk, Tamborine Mountain Glow-Worm Caves at the Cedar Creek Estate Winery, Eagle Thai and Marks and Gardner Art Gallery.

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Special Exhibitions By Local Artisans At The Tamborine Mountain Scarecrow Festival

Two very special exhibitions which showcase the creativity and talents of local artisans will be held in conjunction with the Tamborine Mountain Scarecrow Festival this year.

Exhibition 1 - The Weavers of Tamborine Mountain will hold an exhibition of their work at the Bavarian Grill Haus gallery/restaurant on Main Western Road, North Tamborine.

The weavers involved in the exhibition have been weaving for many years and have developed extensive skill in design, colour and texture. The intricate weaves used in their creations take many hours of concentration and work. The weavers are artists as well as craftspeople and each piece is truly a work of art.

Exhibition 2 - The Monday Afternoon Art Group, which meets under the expert tutelage of Stephen Buntrock at the Creative Arts Centre, will be exhibiting their work in the courtyard area outside Crystal Inspirations on Gallery Walk.

Stephen is a well known artist and art educator from The Gold Coast Art School who teaches every Monday afternoon at the Creative Arts Centre in Wongawallen Road. Local artists have had the benefit of Stephen’s talent and experience in developing and enhancing their talents for many years. Stephen’s mission is to help students to find their own visual language, and this exhibition will showcase the unique talents of the Mountain’s local artists.

These exhibitions are a “must-see” for local residents and visitors alike.

Sponsors Andre Jaworski of the Bavarian Grill Haus, Stephen Buntrock of the Gold Coast Art School and Annie Wheeling of Crystal Inspirations are gratefully acknowledged for their generous contribution to the success of the Tamborine Mountain Scarecrow Festival by hosting these very special exhibitions.

Both exhibitions are on the Scarecrow Trail and will be open during the Festival on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st October.

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How to Register

Registration forms are available from Friday 14th September. Registration closes on Saturday 6th October.

Forms will be available at:

• Kendall Real Estate, cnr Siganto and School Road
• Doughty Park Visitor Information Centre, Main Western Road, North Tamborine
• Tamborine Mountain Library, cnr Main Street and Yuulong Road, North Tamborine
• Eagle Heights Post Office, Southport Avenue, Eagle Heights

Entry boxes for completed registration forms will also be located at those sites.

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Contact Details

We have setup a Facebook Page where you can find more interesting information, view additional images and be involved in discussions about the Festival.

Information is also available from the Festival Coordinator via email at tmscarecrowfestival.coordinator@hotmail.com and we welcome any extra questions or ideas that you have about the Scarecrow Festival.


[Images supplied courtesy of Daniela Kuratli, AU Design - Copyright © 2012]