The small, historic town of Bungay in Suffolk, was filled to the brim with people who have descended on the town for the three-day Black Shuck Festival which is described as a ‘unique festival that celebrates folklore, imagination and storytelling in its many forms’. Some had fully embraced the festival as they came dressed up.
The programme of events is large and utilised several venues across the town, all with a spooky, ‘hellish’ theme around the big, wild, black dog known as Black Shuck, that would stalk the region and terrify the residents of the villages and entered St Mary’s Church in Bungay during a storm in 1577.
The events across the weekend included a variety of family fun with creating your own woolly dogs, treasure hunt around the town, a psychological horror game set in the cellar of the theatre, haunting investigations, talks about witches, history of folklore in the region, local legends, understanding the Suffolk dialect with Charlie Haylock, artwork, magic and puppet shows, sword-play, music, sing-alongs, in fact the list of activities around the town is impressively long and spooky and many of them are free. I loved the fact a few of those in costume also visited the Bungay care homes.
The biggest free event is the Black Shuck Parade and Falcon Fair, starting at Butter Cross in the town centre. Crowds were gathering for a few hours beforehand listening and watching the street performers. People lined the streets of the parade route wanting to see the amazing costumes and be part of it.
The Town Crier kicked off the parade with a thunderous ‘Oyez, Oyez, Oyez’ and announcing the festival, parade and a snippet of history, a ‘Long Live The King’ and it was off…
There were a few wonderful creations of Black Shucks, there was the ‘Head’ Black Shuck who was cheekily playing with the crowds and the kids, there were was an amazing human puppet, where someone was inside the body, with the head being operated by another – whomever was in that costume deserves a medal with all that crouching. There were other brilliant incarnations too.
Within the parade there were Morris dancers, a funky brass band, a folk group, the green children of Woolpit, children dressed up as fire, a 10ft big blue face and ghostly figures. The costumes were creative and fun and really made a wonderful spectacle as the watching crowd were invited to follow the parade through the town.
The parade took the crowd to Falcon Meadow where there was more entertainment and food and drink stalls. There were more games and fun, handmade photographs, street performers and music. It was a great way to end the parade and people stayed to enjoy the atmosphere.
There was also the annual ritual of burning the Black Shuck effigy to warn off the evil spirits for another year! It’s a lovely, charming, fully immersive festival where everyone gets involved and one for the diary. Check out their website for updates: https://blackshuckfestival.com
All images © Hayley Clapperton
