GRAFTON, Vt. – Walk the Fairy House trail at the annual Fairy House Festival and discover a magical village filled with uniquely crafted fairy schools, libraries, and playgrounds. Since 2007, The Nature Museum in Grafton, Vt., has been welcoming visitors from across New England to its wondrous Fairy House Festival, a family-friendly celebration of nature, creativity, inspiration, and community. This beloved Grafton tradition will appear Saturday, Sept. 25 and Sunday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guests of all ages walk the forested fairy house trail, make their own fairy houses, enjoy face painting, music, bubbles, crafts, local food, and more.
In the weeks leading up to the event, volunteers comb fields, stream banks, forests, beaches, and hilltops for moss, bark, pinecones, twigs, pebbles, acorns, and other natural materials. With these ingredients and a lot of imagination, builders craft a unique and spontaneous fairy village of dozens of individual fairy buildings. Some structures are light-hearted and cozy, while others are spell-binding and intricate. Each fairy house is a reflection of its creator, celebrating the individuality among the volunteers who make the magic happen year after year.
Natural materials are also available at the festival, where the museum’s gardens become a fairy house construction zone, and festival attendees young and old are able to create little homes and leave them there overnight for the garden fairies to nest in.
All proceeds support the year-round programming of The Nature Museum, which includes free programming for kids through the summer, immersive experiences in nature for kids and adults, our new Magic Forest Playscape, and resources for teachers and schools to learn about our regional environment.
Event volunteers and fairy house builders receive free admission to the event, and registration to become a volunteer or builder is open on the Nature Museum website. Tickets for admission are on sale on their website. Note that masks are required at this outdoor event. Read all about the event and plan your day at www.nature-musuem.org.