Tarrington's annual hay bale trail returns despite threat of rain

From Sonic the Hedgehog and Scooby Doo to a galah and pop-corn, the streets of Tarrington have been dotted with 25 creative installations as part of its annual trail tradition.

Event spokesman Colin Huf said the friendly neighbourhood competition - which has run for 13 years - grew in popularity each year.

"It's an event as important as life," he said.

"It's certainly putting Tarrington on the map. The hits on our Facebook page, especially from overseas, have been quite amazing.

"The preparation for it was so awkward because of the weather. Even just getting the bales for it delivered made quite a mess on the sides of the streets and roads, but in terms of what people then did under that difficult weather pattern - there were some terrific creations again this year.

"We're very proud of the crew up here and they're hanging in there big time. There's a number of rumblings already of a number of families who've moved in saying they should've participated.

"Next year's going to be the same or if not even better."

IN OTHER NEWS

Mr Huf said it all started with a small idea.

"The very first Lanternfest we had, the committee made a German lady and gentleman out of hay bales which sparked the idea, but in terms of turning it into a community involvement, I was the instigator of that," he said.

"I was driving around in Tasmania at the time and noticed that each town had a unique feature promoting themselves. In one place I went to, for Easter they had a hay bale manger scene setup.

"That got my little grey matter ticking over and I thought, 'Why can't we do something like that?'.

"The first year we had 17 entrants and it's been running for 13 years, even during COVID. During all the doom and gloom it gave families something to do and enjoy."

The entries were judged by Hamilton Art Gallery's Amelia Jones who determined the Taylor and Ross Family's 'Artemis' deserved the overall prize.

Other prize categories and their winners included:

Character - Sonic the hedgehog by the Hatherall Family

Christmas - Christmas Bells by the Huf Family

Creature- The cow by the Wishart Family

Novelty - Tic Tacs by the Frichot Family

Best use of recycled materials - The galah by the Taylor Family

The bales - delivered to entrants by farmers at the cost of a $10 donation - have previously been returned back to the farm, but this year the sodden creations may more likely be used for mulch.

They'll be on display until the New Year.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: