Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival   ©Si Barber. MOral rights asserted. Molly dancers at the Straw Bear festival, Whittlesea, Cambs. The festival is a revival of a centuries old tradition when it is thought unemployed agricultural labourers dressed up in rags and came into the villages to entertain the population for money. Forbidden by law in the early 20th Century, the highlight of the event is when the straw 'bear' who is paraded through the town by his keeper and then set on fire in a nearby field. The modern event attracts Morris and Molly dancer from across the county.