Reminiscing with Faire Films

Every year countless people with machines able to withstand the Curse of Baba Laga and enthusiasm rivaling magic in itself explore the Fairelands and capture their fleeting beauty on film. These vary from hours of walk-throughs to more edited shorter region showcases, to performance shows and interviews, to the story-driven narratives and adventures taking place in the Fairelands. That last one has been on the rise during the last few years, thanks to the latest addition to the Faire events: Film Festival. The Film Festival contest entries are linked on their own page, and I warmly recommend checking them out. Perhaps you’ll feel inspired to make your own next year!

Blogger Highlights III

Fantasy Faire is now closed, and the Fairelands are safely slumbering in the Mists. I wanted to post one more Blogger Highlight even though they make me despair with the impossibility of choosing which posts to use. Picture-wise this has been the year of the mushroom, the year of szystrumites, sunflowers, dragons, mers, and all the magic the Faire provides. Our chroniclers do wonderful job in showing just how much fun and delightful it is to simply stop being human for a while and be something completely different. This is our world, a world with no limitations beyond the ones we hold in our minds. Once freed from those you might find yourself being a dinkie cat, a unicorn, a dragon, a girataur, or indeed, a mushroom!

Love in Different Forms by Teaganlove88 showcases one of the Faire favourites: dragons. Every year the dragons arrive to the Fairelands, and bless everyone with the sight of seeing them in flight. This year the pictures, posts and stories seemed to have a special focus on them, as well.

Daily Recap: LAST

Also known as Daily Recap: Nothing Happened, or Daily Recap: Staff Meeting About Pawlice Unmentionables Colours for Next Year, or even Daily Recap: Extra Day, May 8th, but let’s not be dull.

Fantasy Faire stayed open to public one extra day and the Fairelanders got to see what happens ATA, After The Auction. Giraffes run amok, skies turn pink and groovy, water slides appear out of Elizabeth’s pockets like magic, and neon is the new canon Faire palette. I mean, that is what some people might have hallucinated about due to sleep deprivation (or mushroom influence), but in reality, nothing happened! Nothing happened for ten whole hours!

Today after waking up and locating the nearest kitchen whirlygig gizmo providing caffeine, the Faire mail reached the paws of the Fairelanders.

The Mists Approach

The Fairelands are now closed and preparing for their return to the Mists. Thank you all for being a part of the 15th Age of the Faire! We laughed, cried, and loved. We shopped, adventured, and partied. We restored the heart of Nova Nadiya and rejoiced as the Children of Stories defeated the Witch and broke the Shadow Curse. We also raised our 15 year Faire total in support of the global programs of the American Cancer Society to over 750,000usd! Congratulations to you all!

With Love until 2024,
Elizabeth

Somewhere out there, the Life Before Faire is calling. Somewhere out there, the Fairelands of 2024 are beginning to take form in the shape of dreams. They will return. Return and welcome you all back home.

Sponsor Feature: The Children of Stories

The Children of Stories have been an integral part of the Fairelands since 2014, weaving their roleplay story archs together with the Faireland Mythos, always fiercely opposing the Agents of the Unweaver. This year was their tenth story, and the ongoing story’s finale, but that does not mean their stories would be over! We can welcome the Children back in advance to return at Fantasy Faire 2024!

Nesting in Nysaris

From Gwyneth:

There’s something about Nysaris that invites folk in. And I don’t mean the usual Faire, ‘Welcome! Everything is for sale’! invitation. No; there is something far deeper inside Nysaris, a city built around a goddess of hope. 

Sciathán Bán attached himself to me

The Realm had such a Classical Greek atmosphere that I was surprised to find myself in the company of a white raven. Since Apollo began the practice of shooting the messenger when the (white) raven who brought him the news of a lover’s infidelity had the audacity not to peck out the lady’s eyes, the god cursed all ravens to be black from that moment on. I’d hesitate to venture into a place like Nysaris if I were a kvitravn. For now, I’m calling him Sciathán Bán, because it’s a silly play on the Irish poem Pangur Bán. “Pangur” just means “cat”, and “bán” is “white”, so I checked with Brán for the word for “raven”— which I failed to pronounce after half a dozen attempts. He suggested “sciathán”, which means “wing”, instead— and that, it turns out, I can pronounce, with practice. I’ve made it clear to him that we are avoiding Apollo at all costs.