Methven Scarecrow Trail

20/04/2026

The question remains. Out of the 120 correct entries... who won?
A random draw selected the Cade/Smith family group. Three generations (from Invercargill, Alexandra, Chch & Arrowtown) who came to Methven to visit the Opuke Hot Pools and ended up doing the trail together. From the grandparents to the "children" - 21 and 23 years old:) they all loved it. 🧡🧡🧡

20/04/2026

And now… the moment you’ve all been waiting for! 🎉

Here are the winners of the People’s Choice (most popular scarecrow by public vote) and our annual Judges’ Awards. We’ll be in touch with our winners soon to arrange your prizes — huge congratulations to you all! 👏

Top 10
1st - Shrek (Todd Holmes)
2nd - Moonface (Mt Hutt College)
3rd - Hansel & Gretel (OLS)
4th - Three Billy Goats Gruff (Leap Ahead)
5th - Eeyore (St John's Church)
6th - Belle (Playcentre)
7th - Pied Piper (PGG Wrightson)
8th - Evil Queen (Brown Pub)
9th= Gingerbread Man (MPS)
9th= Pinocchio (MPS)

Judges Awards
Three Billy Goats Gruff & Eeyore & Evil Queen

20/04/2026

Here are the official answers for the 2026 Scarecrow Trail! Not that many of you will need them… a huge 120 entries nailed every single one 👏

To put that into perspective, the previous record was just 59 back in 2022 — and back in 2017, only 12 people got them all right. Safe to say, this year’s trail had some seriously sharp-eyed participants! 👀

As always, we like to play fair — so we were generous with answers where the meaning was clear. If the number wasn’t obvious on one character or the spelling got a little creative, we gave it the benefit of the doubt 😉

We had a feeling names like Thumbelina, Pinocchio, and Rumpelstiltskin might trip a few people up… but the real highlight was the many imaginative takes on Eeyore — including gems like Eor, E Or, and the unforgettable Eeeeooorrr! Creativity at its finest 👏

03/04/2026

Great weather for Day 1 of the Trail! ☀️ Lots of families out there already with maps in hand having a good time. Please note #14 Scarecrow is not yet up. If you’ve done the trail before it is there, we will mark that one correct.
Still plenty of time to get a map today from Four Square Methven who are open today (Good Friday) until 6pm.

02/04/2026

Excited much? We are!
So excited in fact that we have decided to start the Trail a day early - as in tomorrow (Good Friday) at 10am.
Make the most of the good weather before the rain sets in over the weekend and hopefully after a few rainy days, we will be back on track with some lovely autumn days. 🍁

We've seen some incredible creations so far - you're going to love the scarecrows this year!
Happy Easter 🐰🐣🧡

21/03/2026

It's almost our favourite time of the year! Less than 2 weeks before the Scarecrow Trail begins and we can't wait. Massive ups to our talented Scarecrow makers, this event is always so much fun thanks to you all ... 👏🥰

16/02/2026

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15/02/2026

WE ARE ALL GO FOR 2026!
Dates this year: Easter Saturday April 4 - Sunday April 19
Theme: Once Upon a Time (Famous Fairytale Characters)
We have emailed previous scarecrow makers to call for entries. Please message us if you would like to be added to our database or enter a character. Entries close March 4.