Crowds expected for the return of straw bear to Whittlesey
The annual event returns for 2024
Last updated 13th Jan 2024
Up to two-thousand people are expected in a Cambridgeshire town today to see one of its longest standing traditions.
The Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival dates back to around the 19th Century where a person's covered in straw from head to toe and paraded through the streets.
It was tradition to dress a man or boy in straw and parade them through the town on the Tuesday after Plough Monday and call them a straw bear.
The concept fell into decline at the end of the 19th Century after local police had forbidden straw bears as a form of cadging, or begging.
But the tradition was revived in 1980 thanks to the Whittlesea Society while the straw bear was joined by his attendant keeper, dancers and musicians.
Brian Kell is the founder of the Straw Bear Festival:
"We can relate it to medieval times when live bears were taken out and danced in the streets, but it's all conjecture; we don't really know (why the straw bear came to Whittlesey), he said.
"I think it shows a bit of quirkiness; there are other tenuous connections to the use of straw in traditional events (nationally)."
Plenty of dancing expected
It's not just the straw bear that will be on offer for the crowds this weekend.
As well as the main parade on Saturday, there will also be storytelling sessions and Morris dancing before the traditional burning of the straw bear on Sunday.
"We have been and will be doing presentations in schools, there's storytelling going on and a considerable number of Morris and Molly dancers in town," Brian added.
"Income (for businesses) over the weekend reflects the popularity of the event and it's all sorts of businesses in town that get the benefit of up to a couple of thousand people during the day."