GRAFTON, Vt. – The Fairy House Festival marked its fifteenth year of celebrating the magic of Vermont’s fall season, in the fields and woods behind The Nature Museum on Townshend Road. This year’s event was held on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23 and 24. The gloomy skies did not damper the festivities, as visitors, some in costumes or fairy wings, walked along the Fairy House Trail to marvel at the details of each miniature creation.
Each of the installations was crafted by volunteers using natural materials like stones, shells, flowers, moss, and plenty of imagination. Families and local groups look forward to coming up with a new theme every year, and a lot of work goes into executing the concepts.
Some of the fairy houses sat within whimsical landscapes, with rivers of blue crystals and pine cone trees. There were cottages with hydrangea roofs, with gardens of sunflowers, mums, and feathers. A “magical fairy village” showcased the delicate construction of tiny books and bookshelves from twigs and wood scraps at the “flyberry,” an elementary school, park, and a “sweet tooth” fairy bake shop. The “Haunted Mansion of Doom,” created by “The Ghost and Levangie Family” featured a tower made from birch bark and a clam shell. An apothecary called “Nevermore” sold “spells and potions, books, brews, and more,” and was crafted out of bark,
twigs, and walnut shells by Gemma Morgan, Victoria Whitcomb, and Christy Whitcomb.
The trail through the woods above the museum provided a short fall hike, and children gathered acorns, bark, leaves, and more to create their own fairy house in the craft area. Or, they could choose to make a magic wand or fairy mask instead.
The annual fundraising event helps to support The Nature Museum, as well as natural science programs in schools and libraries, wilderness days, workshops, summer camps, mushroom foraging talks, birding walks, and so much more. Since 1989, the museum has encouraged people to connect with, explore, and protect the natural world, and hosts programs and events throughout the year. The museum is open Friday-Sunday year-round, except for a short period during January when they close for program and exhibit work.