From the edge of the dance floor at the Masquerade Ball, Missy’s ears prick up, “It’s Missy! I know that dog! She’s a dog worth petting again!” Missy’s first visit to the New York Faerie Festival, or any festival, and she’s made friends with faeries, trolls, goblins & wizards within the realm of the fae.
Missy strikes a pose in the Walk of Frame
And what a festival! Abundant enchantment; music & dancing all day…
Downloading faerie tunes through his antlers
Dancing to the beat of the troll drum jam
Don’t you love a faerie queen who dances with her subjects?
Troll limbo
Steampunk hippie faerie jig
Magical creatures of all varieties… (Missy’s new friends)
We love everything about her
The Faerie Court
Glitterati Faeries
Rainbow Gladheart
Mother Crane the poetry giving faerie. My poem? Tree House by Shel Silverstein
Tree House
A tree house, a free house.
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.
A street house, a neat house
Be sure and wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all-
Let's go live in a tree house.
~Shel Silverstein
This little woodsprite moments before lavishing Missy with the pets.
Faerie of the Never Ending Smile.
Grandmother Tree graces the Queene’s throne in The Faerie’s Garden in the Queene’s absence and lends an ear to wonderments.
Sacred Drum Master of Events, Ken from Eyeclopedes (for all your drumming needs) with a Powerful Elven Enchantress
Perchance of the Goblin persuasion?
An odd creature who trades and sells an even odder assortment of thing-a-ma-bobs. I ask him, can I take his picture? His curt reply “Can I take the color of your eyes?” Considering my answer carefully (faeries can be dangerous) I notice we have the same eye color. I tell him so and we look into each others eyes for an unusually odd and long moment.
Gregarious juggler Trinket (Lisa) of Tinket’s Costume and Sundry. Lisa can help you create a costume out of recycles, vintage, and whatnots! Really helpful, especially if you are just starting out.
Lisa’s Fae Finery Detail
Oz-like…
Missy is particularly enchanted with the joust and horses, ‘scuse me, unicorns.
The Faerie Queene, Mistress of Ceremony – Round Table Productions
Butterfly Gown Detail
When not getting petted, Missy let me visit some of the many lovely vendors. Just a sampling…
Do you know this feeling?
When you look into the woods at night or dusk. And you can feel the mystery. The wonder of it.
What. Is. Going. On. In. There?
Magnetized towards the pulsation of the ancient virtues. Heart quickening. You know something is going on in there! Alchemistic renderings of earth and spirit, your transcendence is a gossamer thread away…
It’s on the other side of the Troll’s Bridge (no duh), the Faerie Habitat. An enchanted sphere of the Festival grounds. Dryads, Mermaids, Faeries… Charm spinning and spirit gifting…
Linger in the Habitat to connect and transcend.
But first you must get past the trolls. And, be warned. There is a troll toll. They demand, in the friendliest of ways, “shinys” (really anything that is shiny), or a joke, or you may choose to get mud tattooed.
“Turkey in a tree”
Missy is not so sure of the trolls. Mayhap because they refer to her as a goat.
“Can we eat the goat?”
“grrrh”
But the charm of the Trolls wins Missy over.
Four Tusk
One Tusk
In the end Missy passes in to the Faerie Habitat. Her mysterious encounters there will remain mysteriously hers.
But wait, Goblins!
Goblin Mistress
Gandersnitch the Goblin is a revelation. Despite the assurance that he is a reformed Goblin, poetic and wise, I’m wary. But he turns out to be a kindly inspiration.
Gandersnitch is indeed poetic and wise. I’m reading and loving his perfectly inappropriately refreshing and highly entertaining book now.
Inscribed “Be quick, be clever, be wild.” It’s on Amazon, who knew? To get it, click here.
He also has a lovely card game and takes confessions.
Gandersnitch hypnotizing Missy.
As for me, the festival was my sublime medicine. I am sincerely grateful. Thank you.
Surrounded by the singing of the spirit of the wild self, I am mended. Thank you. I soak up kindness, wildness, and joy from the festival creatures. Thank you. The dear souls near my tent who chat with me and help me set up and dance with me at the ball. Thank you. The sparkling eyes and filthy-glittered dancing bodies. Prose and laughter spilling from mouths like honeyed nectar. And the collective feeling that life is indeed something to be lived and played with. The outward reflection that we are all of us beautiful and magical. Thank you.
It brings me back to myself. Ah yes, hello to my beautiful, magical me. So nice to glow you again.
Thank you, New York Faerie Festival.
Some general info about the festival.
The New York Faerie Festival is a three-day affair just completing it’s 7th year. It is out in the boonies of New York, tucked in a valley near a river. Parts of the Festival grounds are in shady woods, and parts bright sun.
Primitive (Port-O-Let) but happy camping is available on the premises. Two yummy dinners are included, with options for meat eaters and vegetarians. There is a simple breakfast hosted at the local firehouse for a small fee/donation. There are some other campgrounds and motels nearby.
There is so much going on at this festival! I barely touched on it here. Fantastic music and performances on multiple stages, outstanding vendors, jousting, tons of street characters who interact with the festival goers, some food trucks, and little spaces throughout the grounds to hang out and play or dream. The Masquerade Ball on Saturday night is not to be missed!
Wear a costume.
Bring cash, always appreciated and it was hard to get a signal to use the Square reader.
Also, read the email communications you receive from the Festival carefully, for if you camp there are specific arrival times.
Hope to see you there in 2017!
Missy and me
View from our tent
View from our car
If you want more festival blogs, I have several. Here they be:
…In Memoriam ~ Margaret ~ Brightest Blessings…
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