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The crowd-pleasing event is ready to take over the streets of Whittlesey again on Saturday – but kicks off on 12 January with a cèilidh-style concert at the Ivy Leaf Club.

Festival founder and spokesperson Brian Kell said it was “wonderful” to have the festival back.

Speaking to the Peterborough Telegraph, Mr Kell described the spectacle as “one of the important events in the town, beside the Christmas Extravaganza and Music on the Square.”

Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival is one of Cambridgeshire's most colourful and quirky street events.

Though the modern Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival started in 1980, its roots are much older, dating back to at least the late 19th century.

It first began when it became traditional to dress a man or boy (the ‘bear’) in straw and parade him around the town on the Tuesday after Plough Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth Night (January 6).These days, the fun focuses on the Saturday, when the main procession sees several Straw Bears - followed by a plough, local schools and traditional dance teams - take to the streets.

The procession will leave Manor Leisure centre at 10:30am then make its way up to Market Street via Station Road, where dozens of Morris and Molly dancing teams, decked out in colourful costumes and garish make-up, will wow spectators and support the Straw Bears as they meander about the town.

The action culminates in the ‘Grand Finale’, when the bears and their guests perform their final dances at the Market Place at 3pm.

Whittlesey's Straw Bear Festival has been wowing large crowds since 1980, although its roots go back to at least the late 19th century.

For many, the 2023 festival will be a welcome step back to normality following the virtual events organisers were forced to hold during the pandemic.

However, existing Covid precautions mean this year’s festivities will, Mr Kell says, “be quite considerably reduced.”

As such, traditional staples like the Saturday Night Barn Dance and the Sunday dance and music sessions will not feature.

The iconic Straw Bear Bonfire will not be a public event either.

Mr Kell said he felt “very blessed” that the event is continuing and encouraged people to come and join in the festivities.

“The people of Whittlesey welcome any visitors,” he said: “but please don’t drink too much.”

Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival 2023: traditional Fenland event to wow crowds after two-year break to Covid