As the weather warms, help welcome back the fairies, elves, gnomes and other woodland creatures by building a whimsical dwelling for them to visit or inhabit. Students, scouts, families, florists, community members, schools, and business owners may all participate by building a Fairy House in the months or weeks before the Festival and bringing it to the Preserve to be displayed during the Fairy Festival.
As you embark on the magical building process, a few thoughts to keep in mind:
- This is not a competition! We welcome a large range of houses from the simplest and most minimalistic, to the ornate.
- Your fairy house will be displayed outdoors along a trail. Please make sure that your elements are secure.
- The sophistication of each design is secondary to each entrant’s ability to create something that exists in harmony with nature and sparks the imagination. (Borrowed from www.fairyhousetour.com)
- Not everyone will be inspired to become a master builder! The goal is to participate in this community building activity and feel yourself drawn back to a primitive love of nature. Use your imagination to construct a warm and welcoming environment for our fairy friends.
Steps:
- Put on your imagination cap!
- Decide on a theme. Or, decide not to have a theme!
- Collect your materials.
- Start with a sturdy base that can be transported to the Preserve and placed on the ground along the forest path.
- Have fun!
- Let us know that you’re participating! As the event nears, we’ll need to have an idea of how many houses to expect so that we may plan the display space and make labels that identify the house as yours. Please let us know that you’re building a house by filling in the form below.
- Drop off your house on Thursday or Friday, May 2nd or 3rd from 10-4. You’ll get free admission to the park THE DAY OF YOUR DROP OFF.
- PLEASE NOTE THAT BUILDING A HOUSE DOES NOT ENTITLE YOU TO FREE ADMISSION TO THE FAIRY FESTIVAL ON MAY 4TH. YOU MUST BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE FOR THE FAIRY FESTIVAL ITSELF.
- We will be setting up a few pick-up days for you to be able to return to retrieve your houses after the festival.
Guidelines:
- Ages: Nature and magic lovers of any age are encouraged to participate. For ultimate success, children under the age of 12 are usually encouraged to work together. Children over the age of 12 can usually build on their own.
- Materials: All fairy houses must appear to be made entirely of natural components. – dry grasses, twigs, fallen leaves, sticks, pebbles, shells, bark from a fallen tree, seaweed, nuts, milkweed or seed pods, acorns, berries, gourds, miniature pumpkins, pine cones and pine needles – are a few examples.
- Construction help: Hot glue, acrylic spray, natural twine and other man-made items can be used, but must be completely concealed by natural elements. No artificial flowers, glass beads or plastic elements should be used.
- Bases: Platforms or man-made support materials can be used, but must be concealed with natural materials.
- Size: Houses of any size and are welcome. Remember that they must be able to be easily transported. You will be dropping off the whole house, you will not be able to put it together on site (which is why we ask for it to be on a sturdy base).
- Theme: We encourage you to be as creative as you wish. However, we do ask that your fairy house not display political commentary or themes that are not appropriate for younger visitors. Your house can be a home, a school, a place of worship, a concert hall, a shop, anything at all!
- Important! You must be very careful not to disturb any of nature’s materials that are still living – such as flowers, ferns or mosses. Fairies will not inhabit a home that was made by killing parts of their natural environment!
(Borrowed and Adapted from the Portsmouth Fairy House Tour’s School Participation and Activities Guide)