August 8th, 2016

The World of Faeries Festival was this weekend! I was so excited to go; after a long, difficult summer of family crises, I was really looking forward to some down time out in the open air with magical people and surroundings. The theme this year was Seasons of the Faeries. Participating children got a calendar, and then could go to each of the twelve month fairies (I was February) to play a game and get a birthstone sticker for the corresponding calendar page.

Me as Amethyst, the February fairy.

Destiny, the Season Changer fairy.

Hazelnut as Corra, the November fairy (she also did a lot of the season changing, as Destiny wasn't feeling the best).

The Blue Rose Mermaid.

One of the vendors' daughters with Natsu, the iguana dragon (check out her mother's work here).

Raincloud made it out with her boyfriend - I haven't seen her in forever!

There were some funny little field mice scurrying around the park.

Kaladin, the stilt walker.

The Statue Lady.

Bubbles...!

A vendor, Sara, working on a fantastic watercolor painting (view and purchase her art here).

Fairy Godmother Rose with her right-hand gal.

The river - we had perfect weather. Warm, but with a steady breeze and some cloud cover.

After the fair closed last night, the cast went out to dinner at a local buffet (photo credit to Hazelnut).

And last but not least, a group photo of a bunch of the cast (photo credit to photographer Mike Smith).

I met some cool new people and got to reconnect with a lot of old friends, which made me happy. I also did lots of shopping, so posts on that are upcoming. I'm very glad I got to go, and I'm already looking forward to next year.

August 4th, 2014

Happy belated Lammas to everybody! Why didn't I post sooner? I'll tell you why! Because the first weekend of August just passed, and you know what that means. Yes! It means that I just spent all weekend at the local World of Faeries Festival!
Once again, it was an amazing experience. There are few things more novel to a Pagan living in a Christian household than getting out for a weekend to mingle at a predominantly Pagan-run event. For the 10th anniversary of the Faery Fest, the theme was Year of the Dragon. There was two days of great music (if you've never heard of Randy Granger or Frenchy and the Punk, check them out), a quest game for the children, bubbles, sword fighting, fresh air, and sun. I got a complimentary wholeness blessing, and even saw a hummingbird winging its way over the flower garden. As per my usual, I bought a bunch of new accessories and several new stones, but before I get into posting about those, I want to share some pictures.

Welcome!

Me in my steampunk Time Faery costume, holding an adorable little woodsprite critter made by the esteemed Dragon Lady. I, unfortunately, did not have the means to pay the adoption fee, but if you'd like to see more of her work, check it out here.

Water Faery.

Statue Lady.

Dragon ice cream.

One of the vendors with Tommy, the Peregrine Falcon.

The fairgrounds.

Bird Man dances.

Friends appear in unexpected places.

A mermaid!

Additionally, it seems only fair to help spread the word about some of the wonderful vendors. Besides the Dragon Lady, whose work is linked up above, I got the business cards of several other people. Not all of them are necessarily Pagan, but they do high-quality, handmade work.

• Eliza C. Stockfisch: watercolor and digital artist, custom masks, and crafts. www.etsy.com/shop/eis4artist
• Annette Powell: fairy houses and gardens. etsy.com/shop/fairyellagarden
• Christina Loraine: paintings, art, and magnets (animals and dreamscapes). etsy.com/shop/ChristinaLoraineART
• Catherine B. Torres: Goddess gowns, vests, corsets, and soy meditation candles. swsilverlark@gmail.com
• Crystal River Gifts: crystals, jewelry, oil, candles, incense, etc. 1 (244) 535-8708
• Joe and Lisa Rothengass: wire wrapped and beaded jewelry, stones and crystals, stone readings. www.maplehousearts.com

August 16th, 2012

Yesterday was really busy, as my Aunt C and her friend Leah took us to the State Fair. We saw everything from animals carved of chocolate and butter, to quilts and knitted items, to animals (from the farm and the wild). There was a presentation on wild edibles and how to collect outdoors, as well as one on Midwestern wild canines - foxes, coyotes, and wolves. We actually got to see and pet a sweet little wolf pup, who was only a year old.

Once the day was done and we'd eaten dinner, we returned to Aunt C's place. I love her house. She has hand made wooden, clay, and fabric masks hanging from the walls, replicas of Egyptian and Roman statuary, and dozens of other art pieces. She also has four cats: Wiccan, Skylla, Tinkerbell, and Onyx. Skylla is really shy; I saw her for about 10 seconds, and she's been hiding the rest of the time. The other three are quite playful, though, and more than happy to climb into bed with you, as I discovered last night. Onyx sat next to me for the longest time, waking me at 3:00 this morning when he started bathing my fingers. Today, we met my mom's friend, Tara, at the Botanic Gardens. They had a stunning selection of plants: orchids, banana palms, cacti, and even some wee bonsai trees.