From 2005 to 2008, Faerieworlds was held at the Secret House Winery in Veneta, Oregon, about a half-hour west of Eugene and very close to the site of the Oregon Country Fair but a couple of weeks later. It became a three-day event - Friday to Sunday - in 2008.
In 2009, the winery was sold and Faerieworlds moved on short notice to fields at the Mount Pisgah Arboretum, located southeast of Eugene and closer to I-5. July 27-29, 2012 will be Faerieworlds' fourth year at this site.
Music has always been the focus of Faerieworlds, with this year's artists including Donovan (yes, that Donovan - "Sunshine Superman," Mellow Yellow," "Atlantis" and more. Faerieworlds will mark, quite rightly, his new show, "The Living Crystal Faery Realm" on Sunday evening. Also appearing with be dub-step violinist Lindsey Stirling, Afro-Celtic group Baka Beyond, the Australian brothers of Brother, SJ Tucker and Tricky Pixie, Woodland and Treguenda (both featuring the Miller-Lopezes) and more.
Brian Froud (author/illustrator of Faeries, Goblins, Good Faeries/Bad Faeries and more) and Wendy Froud (dollmaker and creator of Star Wars' Yoda) serve as hosts of the event and also have their books prints, dolls, etc. for sale.
Numerous other vendors have all types of faerie, mythic and musical items for sale. One of the major features of Faerieworlds is the people who attend in their creative and ever-changing costumes. From infants to senior citizens, there's a wide array of faeries, goblins, wizards, steampunkers and just about anything else that might conceivable fit in.
There's camping for those who make a mini-vacation out of Faerieworlds and the local hotels fill up fast.
I'll be going this year to assist some vending friends who have a booth called Three Moons Emporium. I'll be going to the site on Thursday, July 28, to help set up and staying through until Monday, July 30 to get things packed up again. This allows me to get a vendor camping pass for much less than a regular camping pass. Other expenses will be for food and drink and most likely a car rental since I no longer have a car on the road. Living in the Portland area means I can get along without a car pretty well with some planning, but to geet all my stuff - tent, clothing and costumes, sleeping stuff, and probably a few hats I hope to sell, may make it hard to share a ride, although that hasn't been ruled out yet. Car rental is estimated at $125 to $175 based on what I've seen so far. Some of what I hope to raise will be used to get supplies for making the hats.
The hats, by the way, will be simplified
versions of the one I made for the 2010 event (shown here). It has four
battery-powered clocks, each set to a different time zone (Pacific,
Eastern, Greenwich Mean Time and Sydney, Australia's time zone). I tore
apart several windup clocks and stuck the gears all over. There's a
brass sundial on the top and a sextant on the front brim, with a small
Slinky, which looks steampunkish (to me, anyway) on the back brim. This year's hats will have one clock plus whatever else I think might work.Any money above and beyond what I need for Faerieworlds fees, food, rentals, etc. will be used to keep my head above water as I try to restructure life and debt payments.
You might ask "Why not just skip Faerieworlds?" Well, strictly speaking, I could, but this one longish weekend will most likely be the one event I'll be going to this year. I've made a lot of friends there and I keep in touch with them on Facebook. It's like Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July and several Celtic festivals (it's held the weekend before Lugnasadh) rolled into one. The anticipation, the participation and the memories that follow help keep my spirits up for a long time. I need Faerieworlds!
If you'd like to help me get to Faerieworlds, click on the ChipIn widget at the top right corner of this blog. Any amount is truly appreciated.
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