Residents across Downley have been busy creating Scarecrows as an annual three-week village festival celebrating arts and culture gets underway this weekend.

The Up Downley Festival will officially kick off with Downley Day on Saturday, June 16 as a number of show stopping acts are welcomed onto The Common, including circus tricks, musical performances and a dog show.

Downley Day, which has been running since the 1930s, was previously known as the Jollities and was run by the local church.

The popular annual event, which brings the whole village together, will also feature a family disco, a beer and cheese festival, a 5k run, magicians and quizzes as well as musical entertainment from talented local bands. 

Arguably the highlight of the event, the comedy night on June 20 will feature an array of well-known comedians including Live at the Apollo’s Zoe Lyons, Mock the Week’s Ed Gamble and Edd Hedges. 

The headliner for the comedy event will be Rich Hall, who has performed on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Live at the Apollo.

This year is the fifth annual festival which was created by Downley residents to help villagers get involved in activities around the area.

Elsewhere during the festival, there will be open gardens in the village on June 24, Downley Descants and Wycombe Concert Band will perform on June 29 and magicians Morgan and West will perform at Downley Memorial Hall on July 1. 

A number of the fun events will also feature a donations bar. 

Organisers said: “We are very excited about the events this year as we set the bar quite high last year and we hope to continue this trend again."

Schedule highlights: 

June 15 - Downley Day on Commonside - displays, stalls and rides. 

June 19 - Expo Marquee on Commonside - meet the people who run the village clubs and societies from 7pm to 9pm.

June 20 - Comedy Night ‘A Bit on The Commonside’ - feautirng Zoe Lyons, Rich Hall and Ed Gamble from 8pm. 

June 24 - Open Gardens around the village - lots of new gardens to explore. Afternoon tea from 1.30pm. 

June 24 - Downley 5k Run on Commonside - a stunning route through wonderful woodland from 10.30am. 

June 26 - Downley Common on the Dark Side - Adults and children will love exploring the dark side of the Downley woods. Start at the Beacon on Commonside and finish at the Le De from 7pm.

June 29 to July 1 - Beer and cheese festival at the Le De Spencer’s Arms. Match fine artisan cheeses to a selection of distinctive British ales and ciders.

July 2 to 7 - Art show at Downley Community Centre - a range of drawings and paintings on display. 

For a full list of events visit festival.downley.org.