HOWYA FESTIVAL

If attendances are anything to go by then the Durrow Laois "Howya" Festival is rapidly becoming one of the top festival attractions in the country. With a strong emphasis on family entertainment, thousands of people young and old converged on this picturesque village to sample the atmosphere of a truly unique festival. All throughout this nine day festival hundreds of people left the comforts of the recently opened M8 motorway to soak up the atmosphere generated by the wonderful entertainment on offer, in this once familiar and popular village stop over. Chief among the many and varied family events was of course the inaugural All-Ireland Scarecrow Championships where locals and tourists jockeyed for position to capture a photograph of their favourites among the one hundred and fifty entries. Recession was an expression for another time, another event as people decended into "howls of laughter" at some of the entries. Other events that transformed Durrow into a mini Killarney during the Durrow "Howya" Festival was of course the Jarvey tour of the scarecrows where adults and children were taken on a tour of the highways and byways of the village on one of the beautifully presented horse and carriage rigs. A big Family Picnic on the Village Green, Wild West Night, hurling and soccer tournaments, a juvenile canoe regatta, table quiz, a nostalgia night for senior citizens and a captivating and energetic performance by the popular band Crystal Swing were other events that captured the imagination of an enchanted audience. Durrow has not seen anything like this since the halcyon days of the carnival in the 1950s and 60s and with plans already afloat for next years competition, the expectation is that tourists will flock to Durrow in large numbers during July/August 2011. When the credits for this outstanding display of festival organizing begin to roll, that hard working voluntary committee, Durrow Development Forum will be top of the list. However they will be followed closely by the many willing local volunteers and all the people who created those wonderful scarecrows. It is important too, to acknowledge the financial donations of several locals in our community and also the generous contributions of Laois Partnership and Laois Tourism.

To download fesitival brochure please click here. This year we are incorporating the inaugural ALL-IRELAND SCARECROW CHAMPIONSHIPS in which there is €2000 in Prizemoney - cash prizes for each category.

To view photos of Scarecrows & More click on the link provided.

WINNERS

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Registration form and terms and conditions are available below by clicking the appropriate downloadable link.

Scarecrow Registration Form (MS Word Format)

download Scarecrow Registration Form (PDF Format)

Scarecrow Terms and Conditions





To view pictures of festivals from over the years please click here