Owl Light
Where Inspiration & Inquiry Converge
  • Home
  • Literary Journal
  • Owl Light Sponsorship
  • Digital Owl
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Home
  • Literary Journal
  • Owl Light Sponsorship
  • Digital Owl
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Home
  • /
  • Uncategorized

Fairy Magic on Main St. at the Dansville Fairy Fest

by D.E. Bentley –

Jasper French wears dragon scales painted by Jolin Qiu. All photos by D.E. Bentley
Dansville class of 2020  joined in the street-side fun!

On Friday, July 6th, Fairy Fest events on Main Street in Dansville offered opportunities to capture a wee bit of fairy magic.  Heading into town, I stopped first at Pioneer Park and caught a glimpse of a fairy that had ventured in through one of the welcoming fairy doors placed there.  Fairies, in modern tales, are tiny, often shy, creatures that love and care for the natural world.  Storyteller Cris Riedel, who told several stories to an assembled crowd of listeners of all ages at the Fairy Doors of Dansville Fairy Fest, likes to tell the “old ones,” and is quick to remind me that fairies in the original fairy tales are less than kindly sorts.

No matter their temperament, Dansville welcomes fairies, and children of all ages journey into town to search for the many fairy doors tucked within area businesses and other locations – including high up in trees.  The magic rests not only in the search for the doors and fairies but also in seeing these wonderful little creations – created by local artists and placed by Fairy Door collaborators Jeanne Gridley and Susan Demuth – owner of Dogwood Trading Company.

I caught sight of many doors as I walked along Main Street.  At one point I found myself surrounded by drifting bubbles and imagined within them tiny travelers, although at Dansville Art Works another mode of transportation was offered for these little travelers.  It was there that I encountered Madeline Osborn as she put the finishing touches on her fairy taxi – crafted from pipe cleaners and beads.  Most fairies can fly, as you know, but even fairies get tired and enjoy the comfort of more luxurious transportation

Magic takes many forms and I stepped back out into the night air as Jasper French caught sight of his dragon scales, painted by Jolin Qiu.  Jolin (Class of 2022) was joining some peers from the Dansville Class of 2020, on hand for the Fairy Fest as face painters. 2020 and 2022 are, you have to admit, pretty magical years to be graduating in.  These young people, who shared that their plans for the future were still, well, a bit up in the air, seemed ready to take on whatever adventures they might encounter, wherever their paths may lead.  It was great to see them already assuming leadership roles in their community.

Rachel holds a magic wand and waits for sister Ella – who crafted a crown at Mill Street Optical – and one of her brothers – who seemed intent on finding all of the fairy doors along Main Street.

Fairies, and so many of the wonderful and magical things life has to offer come alive with the stories we tell.  Standing outside the Dansville Public Library, as the hostess of a bean bag toss – that included a sought after magic wand – stood ready to share in the festival fun, I wondered if the groups of children I saw all around me realized, as I did at a young age, the power to be found in books and stories.  They all seemed actively engaged and immersed in role-play

Fairy magic includes fairy tales – in this case told by Cris Riedel at Dansville ArtWorks

.  I stopped briefly to peek in at worlds within a world as Jane, Winifred and others colored fairy doors at Dogwood Trading Company and sisters Ella and Rachel crafted glittery crowns at Mill Creek Optical.

So many people of all ages were caught up in the magic. This was a special night to be in town, and everyone seemed to be enjoying the lovely evening.  There were, of course, groups of children, including Ella and Rachel’s family, searching for all of the wonderful fairy doors –hopeful that they might even see a shy fairy or two.  The Sugar Bowl was also a popular location –ice cream is always a great addition to summertime fun.

First Fridays only happen once a month (the next one is on August 3rd), but travelers of all ages can experience the wonder of The Fairy Doors of Dansville anytime! There are 23 whimsical little doors located in the business district, with several more in the trees of Pioneer Park next to the Dansville Area Historical Museum.  Use the free map (available at Dansville ArtWorks and all fairy door host locations) to find all the doors, and stop by Dansville ArtWorks or Dogwood Trading Company to receive a surprise!

Posted on July 15, 2018 by owllightnews.com. This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.
Collecting Art in the Finger Lakes: The evolving art collection of Lauren Behelfer
Simple Sustainability – Summer ideas for school-aged children

    Recent Posts

    • Visual Studies Workshop Announces Project Space Residency Open Application Period
    • West End Gallery showcasing Brian S. Keeler, Treacy Ziegler
    • Hard
    • Eye-Magine – Future Youth Art Exhibit
    • “These Wilds” Announcement

    Recent Comments

    • Darlene on Let’s Talk About Beep!
    • Darlene Bentley on Hello! from a new Guest Editor, and Finding Joy in Hardship.
    • owllightnews.com on The Farm
    • Douglas Morgan on The Farm
    • owllightnews.com on Energizing and Engaging Fun at GEVA

    Archives

    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • June 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • August 2023
    • July 2023
    • June 2023
    • May 2023
    • April 2023
    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017

    Categories

    • #2021
    • Agriculture
    • Animals
    • Antiques
    • Art
    • Astronomy
    • automobiles
    • Beekeeping
    • Birthday
    • Boating
    • books
    • Botany
    • Broome County
    • Buffalo
    • Canadice
    • Canandaigua
    • Cartoon
    • Children
    • Civics
    • Collecting
    • Comic Strip
    • Community Information
    • concert
    • Covid-19
    • Creative non-fiction
    • Dansville
    • Death
    • Democracy
    • Dogs
    • Editorial
    • Education
    • Environmental
    • Essay
    • Family Fun
    • Fantasy
    • Fiction
    • film
    • Finger Lakes
    • Food and Beverage
    • gallery
    • Gardening
    • Gender Rights
    • Great Lakes
    • Health
    • History
    • Holiday
    • Honeoye
    • Human Interest
    • Human Rights
    • In Memoriam
    • Innovation
    • Interview
    • Leisurely Pursuits
    • Literary Arts
    • Little Lakes
    • Live Theatre
    • Livingston County
    • media
    • Monroe County
    • Movies
    • Museums
    • Music
    • Naples, NY
    • Nature
    • Night Sky
    • No. 1
    • NYS
    • Obituary
    • online
    • Ontario County
    • Opinion
    • Outdoor Sports
    • OWL Light
    • Owl Light News
    • Owl Light Newsstand locations
    • Owl Light Sponsor
    • Owl Sponsor
    • OwlLight Blogpost
    • OwlLightNewsArchive
    • Performing Arts
    • Photography
    • Poetry
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Recipe
    • Reviews
    • Richmond, NY
    • Rochester
    • Satire
    • Science
    • Scifi
    • Seniors
    • Shop Local
    • Social Justice
    • sports
    • STEM
    • Steuben County
    • Sustainability
    • Theatre
    • Tioga County
    • Tompkins County
    • Travel
    • Uncategorized
    • Veterans
    • Weather
    • Women's Rights
    • Wood working
    • writing
    • Wyoming County
    • Yates County
    • Young Adult
    • youth
    • Zoom

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org
Powered by