Faerieworlds Festival

Faerieworlds was started in the early 2000s in Arizona by Kelly and Emilio Miller-Lopez, founders of the band Woodland, and Robert Gould of Imaginosis. When the Miller-Lopezes moved to Eugene, Oregon, they brought Faerieworlds with them. The 2004 event was held at Horning's Hideout in North Plain, west of Portland. From 2005 to 2008 it was held at Secret House Winery in Veneta, west of Eugene. Faerieworlds 2008 was the largest one yet, with the Faerieworlds Events Newsletter released on August 14 citing attendance of 12,500, a 65% increase over Faerieworlds 2007. Faerieworlds 2009 is on track to be significantly larger. Word has been getting around and more friends of the fae want to be there.

Music takes place on the Main Stage and the Village Stage, plus other locations for music workshops. Occasional jam sessions break out just about anywhere. In addition to Woodland, bands such as Qntal from Germany, Kan'Nal, Trillian Green, The Wicker Men, Tricky Pixie, and the medieval German band Estampie have been featured. Individual artists have included Scott Huckabay, John Renbourn, Glen Falkenberg, Phil Boulding of Magical Strings, and harp guitarist John Doan. Once the sun sets, the focus is on musical performances and lightshows on the main stage. 2008 featured Woodland in an evening performance with a Brian Froud light show on Good Faeries Day, while Qntal, with another Froud light show, took the stage in the evening on Bad Faeries Day.

In addition to musicians on stage, there are other entertainers: folks bounding about on Power Jumperz, jugglers, dance troupes, stilt-walkers, magic acts, hula hoopers, and storytellers. Mark Lewis, noted storyteller, shares emcee duties with actor Billy Scudder, who also roams about the grounds as the Green Man with the squeaky voice. The group Mythmaker from British Columbia perform stories drawn from Celtic and Native American traditions.

There is a large vendor village with over a hundred faerie-related vendors selling wings, pixie ears (not from pixies, they just make you look like one), faerie dolls, ornaments, sculptures, books by noted faerie and fantasy authors, vegetarian food even meat-eaters can love, and Secret House wines. There were 160 vendors at Faerieworlds 2008, prompting the opening of a new vendor area which was also the site of the Village Stage.

An essential part of the festivities is the people who attend in their magical costumes. Faerie wings are everywhere, of course, on young and old, female and male. There are usually a few satyrs and wizards, and more than a few guys in kilts. The photo at left shows Brian Froud's son Toby as a satyr on stilts.

The 2008 Faerieworlds featured fantasy artists Amy Brown and Jessica Galbreth. 2009 artists and authors include Amy Brown, J. Corsentino, Jen Delyth, Gris Grimly, Miss Mindy and Carolyn Turgeon .

The official photographers for Faerieworlds for 2004 to 2007 were Kyer Wiltshire and Pixie of Pixie Vision Productions. Pixie always had interesting costumes. In 2007 she dressed as Delirium from Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Both have photo galleries on the Faerieworlds website, and more photos are available on their own sites.

In 2008, Wiltshire and Byron Dazey were the official photographers. Galleries of their photos are available on the Faerieworlds website here. In addition, the Faerieworlds newsletter reports over 6000 images of Faerieworlds 2008 have been uploaded to Flickr. Mine are here.

Faerieworlds 2009 will be remembered for at least two things: the new location at Mount Pisgah Arboretum in the Buford Recreation Area southeast of Eugene and the 90+ heat on Friday and Saturday (on Sunday it was still in the high 80s).

I arrived on Thursday to attend a storytelling workshop led by Mark Lewis, one of the emcees for Faerieworlds. It was a great experience, giving new insights in the use of facial and vocal expression, body language, gestures, and the need to "make it real." After setting up camp, I met with people I'd met online in the Circle of Merry Folk on Tribe.net.

Friday was Good Faeries Day with everyone turning out in their not-so-naughty, but in some cases still mischievous (we're talking the fae folk here, so there's always going to be mischief!) costumes. The gates opened at 2 p.m. and the opening ceremony and spiral dance followed a performance on the main stage by The Wicker Men. The ceremony and spiral dance (which I photographed from the inside - a much better vantage point) was followed by main stage performances by Tricky Pixie, Gaia Consort (now known as the Bone Poets Orchestra), Beats Antique with bellydancer Zoe Jakes, Woodland with guests Louisa John-Krol from Melbourne, Australia and cellist Adam Hurst. The night ended with a special performance featuring fire dancing. Fire events were somewhat restricted due to the very dry weather of the Summer. There were also late afternoon/early evening performances on the village stage with Gypsy Moon and Ghillie Dhu.

Saturday was Bad Faeries Day. I spent the afternoon involved in another part of the park with a film crew shooting an independent movie called The Otherworld in which I played a wizard. I had a few lines which provided some comic relief as I got to speak in Spoonerisms (or spook in Speenerisms). Performances on the main stage were by Tricky Pixie, Adam Hurst, The Wicker Men, Delhi 2 Dublin, Louisa John-Krol, the US debut of Faun and a special performance featuring Mythmaker. The village stage had performances by The Milesians, Vixy & Tony, Sharon Knight and Man Overboard.

Sunday was Family Day. Kids 12 and under were admitted free (with weekend pass prices for kids reflecting that). Some folks had different costumes for this day, others may have worn what they wore Friday and some wore the same all three days. Again I spent a portion of the day with the film folks, although not nearly as long as Saturday. Filming involved use of a fog machine. I was concerned that the artificial fog might be mistaken for smoke, but no sirens or official visits resulted. The scene I was in along with others required no lines. We just moved about sort of like we were in a dream sequence. For my part, I imitated moves I'd seen the Mythmakers do in some of their performances. I did miss Glenn Falkenberg play his harp as the opening main stage act and most of John Doan's harp guitar set, but I did see the Gaia Consort, Faun, Woodland and the closing ceremonies. Afternoon performances on the village stage were Che ok Ten, Krishna Rose and Man Overboard. I bought Tricky Pixie's new CD plus a couple of their posters and four postcards. All the artwork was by fellow COMF member Matt Hawk of Great Scot Productions and I like the art as much as the music. Following the closing at 9 p.m. the Circle of Merry Folk gathered at the COMFy Kitchen for the Stone Soup meal, in which people contributed various ingredients. Sam and Rosy made chili along with both vegetarian and omnivore soup. It was a great time to get to know some of the new friends a bit better.

On Monday I helped out some with breakdown by moving some chairs and stacking folding tables. The heat again really got to me, so I didn't do as much as I'd thought I would. But I'd also arranged with Merlin Bear, one of my new COMFy friends to give him a ride back to Portland. I'd brought way too much stuff, but we somehow managed to cram his stuff and him into the car for the ride back.

Faerieworlds 2010 is definitely on my list of things to do, and my volunteering will, I hope, be duties that aren't too physically taxing. I hadn't camped since my last Old Songs Festival near Albany, NY in 2000, but this worked out well.

Tricky Pixie is a trio that formed at Faerieworlds 2006. The group is made up of S. J. Tucker on guitar and vocals, Alexander James Adams on fiddle, mandolin and bodhran, and Betsy Tinney on cello and bodhran.

It was just my luck that I was only able to attend Faerieworlds 2008 on Saturday, but I found out from Alec's partner and manager Kore that they would do a jam session late that afternoon. I was there to listen, take pictures, and buy a copy of the CD.

Tricky Pixie performed once again at Faerieworlds 2009. The gig coincided with the August 1st release of their first studio album Mythcreants, which is available from their website.

For more about Tricky Pixie, check out the Faerie Music: Tricky Pixie lens.

Amy Brown

In the Faerieworlds Events Newsletter released August 14, 2008, Guest of Honor and faery artist Amy Brown is quoted as saying:

"It was an honor to be included in Faerieworlds this year. My family and I had so much fun (five year old Bella didn't want to go home and I sort of didn't either) and we can't wait to come back next year. After a few very stressful and emotionally draining years that had me seriously considering retiring from being a Faery artist, Faerieworlds was exactly what I needed to restore my passion for my work. Watching the sheer happiness and abandon of the crowds and seeing all of the beautiful unique items being sold by the vendors was inspirational. A little light bulb went off in my head 'AAhhhh...this is why I chose this life. Now I remember.' This is the type of life I want my girls to grow up with. I want them to know that there are other roads we can take. Faerieworlds helps us find those roads again and again."

J. Corsentino

Joseph Corsentino was born in Bogota, Columbia and adopted by an Italian-American family from Long Island. He has combined his love of photography, science fiction and fantasy into Time of the Faeries, in which faeries, angels and vampires, in a new mythology "between the stars and the streetlights" endure the chaos and tragedy of decaying modern cities.

Jen Delyth

Welsh artist Jen Delyth creates her Celtic art in a variety of media ranging from traditional egg tempura painting to computer illustration and multimedia presentations. She has published Celtic Folk Soul: Art, Myth & Symbol, a retrospective of 20 years of art and an interactive DVD, Beyond the Ninth Wave.

Gris Grimly

Grimly, an artist inspired by Poe, Gorey and Lovecraft, has created a number of macabre children's books that even adults can enjoy. His works for Baby Tattoo Books include Wicked Nursery Rhymes, Wicked Nursery Rhymes II, Little Jordan Ray's Muddy Spud, and Where Madness Reigns: The Art of Gris Grimly.

Miss Mindy

Miss Mindy is an accomplished fine artist, illustrator and product designer who brings her sense of silliness (something we can all use!) to her work. She has published a children's book and Miss Mindy's Sassy Paper Doll Bonanza from Baby Tattoo Books.

Carolyn Turgeon

Author of Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story, which looks at the aftermath of Lil's deception (she went to the ball in Cinderella's place and pays a price for it), will be at Faerieworlds for the first time along with Portland artists Lana Guerra and Jesse Reno.

Brian, Wendy and Toby Froud joined with other talented artists to present two days of Faerie Academy Workshops. There were eleven workshops presented during the two days before Faerieworlds itself. I participated in Mark Lewis' storytelling workshop on Thursday.

Wednesday workshops:

• Mask Making with Brian, Wendy & Toby Froud (3 hours)
• Enchanting Baby Fairies with Elizabeth Dye (8 hours)
• Fairy Wings with Sherry Morgan (2 hours)
• Breathing Life into Puppets with Toby, Wendy & Brian Froud (4 hours)
• Illuminated Fairy Mica Magic with Tamara Scott (4 hours)

Thursday workshops:

• Faerie Finery with Kate Clegg (3 hours)
• Object Alchemy with Bridget Wolfe & John Crawford (3 hours)
• Creating a Faerie Portrait with Wendy, Toby & Brian Froud (7 1/2 hours)
• Stroll with the Faye with Billy Scudder, the Greenman (1 1/2 hours)
• Fairy Wings with Sherry Morgan (2 hours)
• Make It Real! Storytelling with Mark Lewis (1 1/2 hours)

(Photo: Mark Lewis, storyteller, making it real)

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The Faerieworlds people have always striven to present a "zero impact / soft footprint / eco-conscious" event. With the move to public land, this becomes even more important. The folks at Lane County Parks and Recreation were excited about Faerieworlds coming to Mount Pisgah, and the organizers hope the park will be the home of Faerieworlds for years to come. Learn more at Faerieworlds.com.

Each year, Faerieworlds has made a donation to educational and ecological organizations. For 2009, this donation was made to the Mount Pisgah Arboretum Friends of Buford Park.

FaerieCon 2009 will be held a bit later that previous FaerieCons. It will be held just north of Baltimore, Maryland on November 6 - 8 at the Baltimore Hunt Valley Marriott. The 2009 Guests of Honor will be international best-selling author & fantasy artist Charles DeLint and internationally acclaimed faerie and fantasy artist Charles Vess. Featured events are the Good Faeries and Bad Faeries Masquerade Balls, which originated at FaerieCon.

The new location offers several advantages over the previous location. The FaerieCon special room rate is 50% less than previously, there is free parking, and since FaerieCon has booked the whole hotel for the weekend, events and parties can run later. The hotel is also the site of the annual Balticon science fiction convention, so the hotel staff has experience with costumed attendees.

Check the FaerieCon 2009 website for more details.

In 2007 and 2008, FaerieCon was held in Philadelphia in the Fall. The big events were the Good Faeries Ball and the Bad Faeries Ball. The Good Faeries/Bad Faeries theme was incorporated into Faerieworlds 2008, and the Good Faeries Ball and Bad Faeries Ball came to Eugene so Faerie fans didn't have to wait a whole year between the summer events at Secret House Winery.

The Good Faeries/Bad Faeries Masquerade Balls were held at the historic McDonald Theater in downtown Eugene. Friday night's Good Faeries ball featured the band Woodland with the Brian Froud Good Faeries Lightshow plus the band Trillian Green. Saturday's Bad Faeries ball featured the band Kan'nal in their final performance together and Faerieworlds favorites Tricky Pixie. That's Tricky Pixie's S.J. Tucker on Bad Faeries Day at Faerieworlds 2008 in the photo.

No faeries, pixies, elves, goblins or other creatures of the Realm of Faerie were harmed or even mildly inconvenienced in the creation of this lens.