CELEBRITIES from stage, screen, sport and music will descend on Loddon for a glitzy festival this weekend.Ok, so they may be “scarecrow celebrities,” but since when has a head full of straw been a bad thing in the world of stardom? The Loddon “Celebrity” Scarecrow Festival takes place tomorrow and Sunday, when local schools, businesses, organisations and individuals will be displaying their homemade celebrity scarecrows about the village and in the church grounds in a bid to win the coveted “Best in Loddon” award.

CELEBRITIES from stage, screen, sport and music will descend on Loddon for a glitzy festival this weekend.

Ok, so they may be “scarecrow celebrities,” but since when has a head full of straw been a bad thing in the world of stardom?

The Loddon “Celebrity” Scarecrow Festival takes place tomorrow and Sunday, when local schools, businesses, organisations and individuals will be displaying their homemade celebrity scarecrows about the village and in the church grounds in a bid to win the coveted “Best in Loddon” award.

There will be over 50 celebrity scarecrows dotted along the High Street and at the Church, including Amy Winehouse, Dolly Parton and Darth Vadar.

Nigel Evans, Vicar at Loddon Church, said: “In the past we've had various celebrity scarecrows appearing so we thought it would be nice to have a theme to keep it fresh, and people have gone for it I think!”

There will also be a Noah's Ark scene at the Staithe, with the chance to find Noah's animals that have escaped around the village.

Other events at the festival will include a barbecue, a bouncy castle, various stalls, afternoon tea and cakes, and face painting.

The Loddon Band will be performing tomorrow at 1.15pm and 2.15pm, and trips will be available up the church tower, where you can see the recently re-hung and refurbished bell tower and admire the spectacular views of the Broads and surrounding countryside.

On Sunday at 10am there will be a special open air Songs of Praise at Loddon Staithe, opposite Bridge Stores in Bridge Street, and in the afternoon will be the return of the ever-popular “parachuting teddies” from the church tower.

The festival takes place from 11am to 5pm on Saturday and from 12pm to 5pm on Sunday.

Programmes cost £1 from Church Plain on both days and include a map, animal hunt and the chance to vote for the best scarecrow.

All proceeds will go to the Holy Trinity Church Loddon Refurbishment Plan which includes installing a visitor reception area, toilets, a kitchen and a ringing platform for the church bells.