A scary festival heading to Haddenham!

The annual Haddenham Scarecrow Festival will benefit local cancer charities this year, including CCHF.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary the hugely popular event is organised by the Haddenham Association of Scouts and Guides and will run from Saturday 7 June until Sunday 29 June.

Funds raised from this year’s festival will be divided between two local organisations that provide cancer support services. Half of the funds raised this year will be donated to Aylesbury Vale Prostate Cancer Support Group and half will go to CCHF. The charities were chosen because a number of the Buckinghamshire village's residents had suffered from cancers and recommended them.

The festival's theme - “Strength and Hope” - was inspired by the work of the charities. Festival organiser Francesca Flaxton explained: “This can be interpreted in numerous ways … power, superheroes, wolves, lions, eagles, doves, olive branch, Phoenix, sunrise, rainbow, light, etc, etc! Some people may also choose to incorporate the number 10 in some way to celebrate our decade. The only limit is your imagination!”

Mike Snell, a CCHF Trustee, commented: “We are very grateful for having been chosen as a recipient, and feel privileged to be part of this important village event. I have enjoyed visiting the festival over a number of years and always marvel at participants' ingenuity. I'm really looking forward to this special occasion!”

To celebrate the festival’s 10th Anniversary, the Association of Scouts and Guides is determined to recruit 100 entries! Anyone can take part – individuals, families, neighbours, whole streets, local businesses, schools, community groups and organisations. The only rule is that participants need to either live in Haddenham and/or have visible premises in the village where they can display their entry. If you want to take part go to the online entry form. You have until midnight on 31 May! You can also make a direct donation to the festival's fundraising here.

֍ CCHF supports the cancer and haematology service provided by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and raised the £1 million necessary to build the ground-breaking Cancer Care and Haematology Unit in 2001. The Unit provides a wide range of outpatient and day-case treatments for patients with cancer, including blood cancers such as leukaemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, and also cares for patients with non-malignant blood problems such as clotting and bleeding disorders, various forms of anaemia, immune problems and haemoglobinopathies. CCHF also supports the NHS treatment service at the Sunrise Unit at Wycombe Hospital, as well as in community settings across Buckinghamshire and neighbouring counties. Click here to see what we do.

Our photo above shows some of Haddenham's super scarecrows in earlier years

12 May 2025