The First Annual Fairy Ball

Jump to Comments

Do you know anyone who is half fairy?

I do!

My old neighbor seemed like a normal human mom. Heather had twin boys, worked as a doula and herbalist as well as a homeschool teacher. She drove her station wagon around town, and hooked me up with a wonderful biweekly food co-op. She loved to garden and be in nature whenever possible.

But then, sometimes her other side would come out. A few sparkles of fairy dust would appear on her cheek. Were those gossamer wings sprouting from her back?

Yes, Heather would magically transform into her other half, Fairy Una Wildwood, to the delight of all the children in town. In the spring and summer she hosts delightful Enchantment Camps: weeks of crafts, songs, and play all about fairies, mermaids, pirates, and other imaginative worlds in nature and beyond. Sometimes she invites the children for weekly explorations of fairy realms for an hour or two at the Enchanted Cottage, or she might even appear at the local library to tell magical tales and sing fairy songs. Una even flutters off to birthday parties to enchant all the children with stories and gifts from the fairy kingdoms.

But this last weekend, something amazing happened! Una decided that the children needed to meet some of her friends from fairyland. And so, the Children’s Fairy Ball came to be.

I arrived to help Una decorate the hall in true fairy fashion: garlands of flowers, flocks of butterflies, twinkling fairy lights, and even a giant mushroom bedecked the scene. Tempting food was prepared, and places set for all the children to enjoy with their families.

Suddenly, I was transported to Una’s fairy realm, and became one of her companions — the Fairy Dust Fairy! I found myself dressed in a blue dress with trailing ribbons and sparkling wings, and crowned with a silvery blue fairy crown. At my side I discovered a trove of fairy dust in tiny bottles, and each child felt my gentle touch as I shared some fairy dust with them as they arrived.

Soon the other fairies appeared to greet the children: the Green Man/Earth King, the Earth Fairy Queen, the Fire Fairy Queen, the Winter Fairy Queen, the Ocean Fairy, the Moss Maid, and more came to share songs, dances, and treasures with everyone. The children, of course, had arrived in their own magical attire, with wings, wands, tiaras aplenty. There were even a few wizards and dragon-tamers there!

I’m not sure I can describe all the delights that we shared, as now I find myself back in the human world again and the fairy world seems so far away. But I know that truly, the Una’s fairyland is always near.

7 Comments

Filed under Silliness and Mayhem, friends, play

Tags: Fairies