The New York Faerie Festival: My First Year

I left my phone with Puck. I should have known better.

Last weekend, I ran away to Faerieland: the Kingdom of Evenmarch, to be specific. The New York Faerie Festival is held during the last weekend of June each year, and this was the 17th year since it was founded. I am not new to faerie-themed events, but this was my first festival instead of a convention. Although both are in celebration of the same sort of magic and faerie faith, their energy is quite different. I've always thought of myself as the "stay in a hotel room and go to a panel room to talk to people about philosophical and spiritual things" type of person, so I was excited and nervous to attend a "camp with 500 people in the woods and dance spiral dances" kind of event for the first time. Turns out, there's a reason why both exist, I'm so glad I've experienced both, and I do hope to go back to Evenmarch next year.

Imagine a place where those who believe in faeries (and those who maybe don’t quite, but really want to) can play in the woods for a while like they did when they were children (or maybe never had a chance to at all). They can run around the woods being silly, acting liminal, demanding to be entertained by mortals, exchanging tokens. Imagine a space so full of the diversity of faerie-kind (goblins and pixies and sidhe and trolls would scoff at any judgment based on differences) that everyone feels safe and welcome and loved and never judged.

Our group in the camp. Goblins, green men, and us.

I found out toward the end of the weekend that I wasn't alone in my concern about Grace Nuth roughing it at a campsite. Two friends separately told me that they had secretly had their reservations, especially once I let slip that I hadn't slept in a tent since I was sixteen and going on missions trips with my church youth group. (My life is very very different now.) Truth be told, I didn't mind the camping aspect very much, although my OCD was put to the test with a fear of tick bites. My body, on the other hand, did not much care for camping at all. Because of this, I will probably have to consider attending next year from the arthritis-friendly zone of an AirBnB instead. We will see how it goes.

If I do have to stay off site next year, there are definitely things that I will miss. Like sitting in camp chairs around a circle listening to the melodic call of fey music (Kiva was pure magic) echoing from below among the trees. Like donning ball gowns and masks, wandering down a trail to a clearing, and dancing in the dark to Celtic songs while colorful lights twinkle in the trees above you. Like kneeling to be fed a strawberry by a satyr in their grove. Like waking up each morning, groggy and sleepy-eyed, and watching friends you've known for decades sit in their camp chairs and transform themselves into green (and blue) skinned goblins.

goblin genetics: pink goblin and green goblin = half and half baby.

switch, why are you running around with floppy bananas hitting people? Because NYFF

So let's talk about those goblins. I've been told by multiple long-time attendees that once you've fully invested in the magic that is Evenmarch, almost everyone either becomes a volunteer or a player of some kind. There are several main types of fey at this event: goblins, trolls, Lost Boys, faeries, gnomes, merfolk, magpies, Green Men, and satyrs.

However, if none of those categories appeal to you, there are also unique roaming characters such as (possibly my favorite) Mother Crane, a beautiful elder in a Mother Goose-esque shimmering iridescent costume who carries a tray draped in feathers, meticulously pinned with slips of paper scribed with classic poems. Choose a poem, and she will read it out to you in a gentle voice. Save the paper as a memento of the magic.

The crew waiting for the parade on Saturday. Good folks.

Every person who has manifested a persona at the event puts meticulous work into their story and interactions. All of the characters trinket trade with guests. I laughed with the crowd to see Switch the goblin take a large blue gem from a little girl and magically transform it into a tiny blue gem. The magpies carry small pebbles, and if they hear you telling a story, they will run up to you and have you hold a stone close while you tell your tale. They then collect the rock and add it to their hoard of stories for Faerie to share.

Silent fairy, photo by Ron Frary on Official NYFF Facebook page

Silent Fairy beckons you to join the parade with her leaves. Photo by Jenny Davies-Reazor

Of course to cross the troll bridge into the quieter and more natural side of the festival, you have to leave a token of some kind as well with the guardian. Or if you're clever like my friend and tentmate Greene, you can quietly grab a rock, pretend you're stealing the troll's nose, and promise to only give it back if he lets you pass. And if you climb the steps to the satyr grove, they might offer you fan service. Much needed on a hot summer afternoon. They flutter the breeze toward you...what did you think I meant?

There are many other creative interactions and character behaviors among the fey. For instance, the silent faery is a young woman in flowing faery garb who stays barefoot all weekend, hiding behind trees and darting from place to place. Out of all of the players, she was the one I never once saw break character ever, and she absolutely could have been straight from the Otherworld. During the parades, she collects fallen leaves and hands them to observers, beckoning them to join her. On the first day, I resisted. On the second day, my friends and I were right there waiting to join the march.

My favorite of all of the character interactions, however, was Elf chess. This is a game played toward the end of the day on all three days of the festival. A giant hoop is placed in the middle of a clearing, and the teams assemble. Puck explains the "rules," such as they are, with a long scroll that they read in a screech. Then the teams take turns placing their pieces in the hoop. We only saw the finals of elf chess, but it ended with such a brilliant round of moves I laughed until I almost cried. First, the team consisting of faeries and goblins placed a rabbit (to explain why, I'd have to go move to move to the beginning), and the gnomes placed a balloon dog to scare away the rabbit. The faeries and goblins countered with a real dog, owned by the Poppy Faery. The gnomes cried foul: the pup had to be on the ground within the boundary of the hoop, not held by its owner in her arms. Still, everything was fine as the well-behaved canine was staying in the boundaries. But then, the final gambit: the gnomes emerged from behind their hiding umbrella with a squeaky toy, leading the dog away from the playing field and winning the entire event. It was ridiculous and silly, and perfectly sums up the spirit of the New York Faerie Festival.

But the gnomes lure the dog from the game with a squeaky toy

This weekend I tried a matcha latte for the first time (and second), which my friend Greene ordered by growling that she wanted "MATCHA" (deep voice). We ate lunch each day in a grove of umbrellas of varying shapes and sizes and colors. When it got a little overheated on Saturday afternoon, we went to the stream and put our feet in the water, listening to the mercreature Creech "sing" parodies of pop culture songs changed to be merfolk-themed in a raspy voice that only Scuttle from the Disney Little Mermaid would love. (Creech is normally a goblin who was filling in...the ancestry showed through.) We ate cookies still hot from a dragon's mouth (clay oven.) And I was encircled by Green Men chanting their blessing. They gifted me an acorn.

The water in the stream was so nice and cold.

The umbrella grove was a lovely place to rest and eat.

The New York Faerie Festival is not only welcoming of all, it is quite literally the queerest event I've ever been to, and I am counting Pride festivals both local and in Columbus. The diversity and the embracing of everyone's true natures and self-expressions was heartwarming in a way I have no adequate words to express. Everyone was careful of pronouns. Everyone welcomed friends and strangers. And with the way the world is today, it felt especially rejuvenating to be in such a space for the weekend. There is absolutely no cell phone service anywhere on property, unless perhaps for two seconds a satellite is directly overhead, and the moon aligns with jupiter. It may be strange at first, but it forces you to stop doomscrolling and start playing.

my friend Sarah’s booth. I love her mini potion bottles.

Artist Sara Zunda shows us how she works on art on her tablet at shows.

First view of the market through the trees.

After all of this, I still haven't even mentioned the vendors at the event. If you camp "upstairs" at the property, you have to walk down a steep trail to get to the festival. Seeing the tents through the trees ahead of you creates the feeling of attending a goblin market out of a fairy tale. And the vendors sell wares as diverse as you might expect. Here in Ohio, our local renaissance festival is ORF, and though it's enjoyable (and very very busy), I have recently been disappointed by how many of the vendors sell the same kinds of goods (another sword seller, another candle seller, etc.) as well as how many sell plastic goods or items made overseas. This isn't an issue at NYFF. Unique artisan-created items fill each tent with temptations and enchantments. Greene and I dove right in on the first day and when we emerged from our shopping haze at lunch time, we counted our coin to discover we had both spent 3/4th of our funds for the whole weekend already. Be forewarned: the faeries know how to tantalize very very well.

My biggest splurge of the weekend was a beautiful sueded silk charmeuse skirt from Reyen Design Studios, an investment piece from a company I've admired the work of for years. Their hand-dyed silk garments are stunning, but often come in jewel tones that are too colorful for my preference. When I saw a honey gold and brown silk skirt I took it out to the sunlight outside of their tent, and immediately asked them to wrap it up for me. (I wore it on day 2 below.)

I dressed on the first day of the event as a jackalope fairy. I paired my Quinn and Bloom antlers with rabbit ears and a dress I adorned with hand-drawn jackalopes along the hem. I took a risk dressing in white, and I knew it. But I figured I had the least risk of mud splatters on day one. Although several people mistook me as a faun, I got many compliments on the skirt hem.

For day two, I dressed in my favorite garb I own. My D.M. Anderson troll tail was the centerpiece, but I also wore a bodice I personalized with paint, shredded mossy creepy cloth, ribbons, and other adornments. I paired this with a green skirt and the new Reyen Designs silk skirt, goblin skirt hikes and custom troll ears also from D.M. Anderson, and a set of moss-colored sun sleeves I hand painted with brown texture before the event to give them a more fey vibe. This outfit is one I've worn before (albeit without the sleeves or silk skirt last time) as an homage to my beloved Wendy Froud troll, Adley. I felt amazing wearing this all day, and I can't wait to wear it again for another event.

On day three, I went as a troll witch. I wore a lightweight green chemise with a brown skirted lace-up bodice over it. I hung a little broom and my troll chatelaine made by Bryonie Arnold from my belt, and wore the same troll ears with my straw witch hat. A plush hag stone by Brett Manning was stuck through the point of my witch hat for a bit of extra whimsy.

So I guess there you have it. That was my experience attending my first New York Faerie Festival. Ah, and I have two more important piece of advice to give you. I'm sure you're thinking that this Faerieland sounds like paradise, but I have to leave you with this….

1. When they say dress for all weather, and guaranteed mud, they mean it. This year was dryer than some years (some years it rains every single day) and the streets of the festival were still thick with mud and ruts. Just bring waterproof shoes you can brush off when you get home and forget worrying about keeping yourself immaculate.

2. Put on your patient pants. Now that your patient pants are on, find your patient hat in the back of your closet, and secure it to your head. This festival is put on with love, a little bit of bubble gum and string, and a whole lot of volunteers trying their best. You'll have the best time if you go in with a strong dose of patience, and an attitude of "it is what it is and we will make the best of it." No one can control the weather, how many people arrive after long trips at the same time and all want to bring their cars in as close to the campsites as possible to unload, or any other number of potential issues and hiccups. Go with the flow. It's a pretty fun flow.

And by all means, come next year!!