Leopold aged care residents took first place in a Bellarine scarecrow competition with a giant pink and purple Cheshire Cat.
Kensington Grange residents won the sixth annual Flying Brick Scarecrow Competition for their scarecrow inspired by Alice in Wonderland’s Cheshire Cat.
Lifestyle coordinator Alana O’Keefe said the residents were “thrilled” to win the competition and felt proud of the finished product.
“We were overwhelmed with joy when we were notified of the competition win, especially because of the effort that the residents put in,” she said.
“We talked about what a scarecrow was for and its purpose, which was to frighten away birds. So, what are birds more scared of than cats?
“The residents have loved every part of the process. If they were not gluing wool, they were knitting or doing something else. Everyone played a different part, but all worked together.”
Ms O’Keefe said the residents put a lot of thought into making sure the scarecrow met the competition’s criteria of weird, wacky, scary and pretty.
“The base was made from wire, shade cloth and pool noodles, which the residents threaded wire through the pool noodle to mold them into shapes,” she said.
“When you stand in front of it, it’s got a sensor in its ear, and it will meow, but it’s not just any meow; it’s the meows from all the residents, and it’s pretty frightening.
“We’ve been working on it since January, and it took about seven weeks. We just had to chip away a little bit every day and in the last two weeks we just really smashed it out.”
Jena Carr
