Do you believe in fairies?

After attending the fairy festival for the first time three years ago, my friend Cindy and I made a vow,
“We are coming every year while our girls are still little. And then we’ll all serve as volunteers.”

You’ll make the same vow if you come next year. I promise.

The Fairy Festival isn’t just an event, it’s a labor of love. An evening dedicated to the memory of sweet Willa Tempest Jones who lived one short week.

Every year since, right around Willa’s September 9th birthday, her family and friends (under the name Willa’s Workshop) create a magical fairyland, invite the public and donate the proceeds to charity.

This year’s charity was Huntsman Cancer Institute which is why Mary placed a flag with Grandma Zoe’s name on a cake for loved ones we’ve lost to cancer.

The cancer institute may receive the monies, but everyone who attends becomes a recipient of the magic and pure love offered by the volunteers. The modest fee ($5 children, $10 adults) scarcely seems to cover the food and crafts, let alone the fanciful decor, storytelling, secret paths, jolly pirates, magic wands, animal balloons and generous sprinkling of fairy dust.

Yet, every step you take, every path a little one races down, a smiling volunteer croons, “Thank you for coming. We are so glad you are here.”

When someone loses a child, they have an undeniable need to create something beautiful in their memory; something physical and real to say, “She was here! She matters! We remember.”

All summer long, the angels of Willa’s Workshop weave and sew beautiful little fairies, craft homes and villages– each year a few more appear in the garden.

I could scarcely keep up with the girls as they raced from one magical corner to another.

Bring the boys. It’s a pirate ship.

Have you ever seen a lovelier market? All wares are donated by loving friends.

The mermaid in in the other pool.

fairy dragonflies

I’m not confessing how many donuts we ate.

getting dark– do you see the swing next to the tree where fairies and pirates can fly across the water?

just the right size for cotton candy

with Catherine’s girls — not quite ready to go home

beautiful fairy godmother

one last chance to spy a fairy

Until next year…