Whittlesey Welcomes the Straw Bear Festival
Annual festival brings crowds and a boost for local businesses
If you're in Whittlesey today, you might spot a bear made out of straw dancing through the streets as part of the town’s famous Straw Bear Festival.
Musicians, plough boys, and colourful dance teams will be performing all around Whittlesey throughout the day.
Organiser Gary Cook says the festival’s roots go back over a century, to a time when farm workers returned to the land after Christmas.
He explained, “It was born out of the time of the year because farm workers generally used to go back to the land. Times were tough and they used to dress a plough boy up in straw to dance around the team and go around the houses.”
Gary says every year’s costume is made fresh, thanks to local farmers who grow wheat for the bear.
“Over the autumn period, the costume’s made—it takes us a couple of months after Christmas,” he said.
He believes the event gives Whittlesey a much-needed lift in January:
“Lots of the businesses in the town, probably at a low E, everybody’s spent over Christmas. So this sort of event in January really does attract people into the town.”