Are you a good faerie or a bad faerie?
Faerieworld co-producer Robert Gould said that idea is enchanting.
“Every culture has an embodiment of nature spirits from the wind, fire or water. The world is alive and animate and it can affect your life; that’s very attractive to people,” he said.
Most prominent in European folklore, the classical faerie is usually a small person with magical powers, associated with secrecy and supernatural world.
Faeries can also be “kindly or malicious,” hence the theme of the first annual Faerieworlds Winter Celebration: Good Faeries and Bad Faeries. For two days, with two themes, the bizarre folk/rock masquerade ball invites fantasy-lovers to mark the Celtic holiday, “Imbolc” (or Candlemas, as it is known in the Christian tradition), which celebrates the first signs of the nearing spring.
It all started one Halloween in Sedona, Ariz., when Woodlands, Faerieworld co-producer Emilio Miller-Lopez’s band, hosted its record release party. The venue was advertised and themed with the paintings of cult-favorite fantasy artist, Brian Froud. At one point in the night, Lopez called Gould to tell him the show had sold out. “But, that’s not the problem,” Lopez said. “There are 200 people dressed outside as faeries and I don’t know any of them.”
Granted, it was Halloween, but this was something more; these people were Froud loyalists. “One of the most amazing things is that they didn’t tell people to get dressed – they just showed up,” Gould said. “It was shocking how much fun people had.”
After that show, Gould and Lopez knew they had something. Working to expand the project further than just the mainstream seasonal flood of jack-o-lanterns, the Oregon faerie phenomenon took off.
Faerieworld Winter Celebration
WHEN: | 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday |
WHERE: | McDonald Theatre |
ENTERTAINMENT: | Performances by Woodland, Kan’Nal, Trillian Green and Tricky Pixie; a lightshow, costume contest and special guest Toby Froud, puppeteer and star of Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth” |
TICKETS: | $35 for both nights, $20 for Friday’s Good Faeries Ball or $20 for Saturday’s Bad Faeries Ball |
MORE INFO: | faerieworlds.com |
Other states already had an established following, with the largest festival drawing more than 17,000 fans annually for 15 years to a farm in York County, Pa. The subculture was largely inspired by the colorful illustrations of the bestselling 1978 book, “Faeries,” created by Alan Lee and Froud, both conceptual designers for the films “Lord of the Rings” and “Labyrinth.” Recent fantasy flicks and video games such as “The World of Warcraft” have further popularized the movement. In the summer, small faerie conventions take place almost every other weekend. “Peter Pan and Tinkerbell haven’t lost (their) appeal one bit. I think Eugene is a great place for it,” Gould said.
For five summers, fantasy fans have gathered for the Faerieworlds summer festival at the Secret House Winery in Veneta, which attracted 12,000 people last year.
Among the ethereal sounds of the harp and pipe are many otherworldly faces: eight-foot kings on stilts, Celtic warriors and winged creatures, as well as hundreds of puppeteers, storytellers, authors, artists, actors and craft-makers. About 80 percent of attendees are in costume, almost all costumes are home-made, and many worked for months to prepare for the event.
“We see some spectacular things. People love the idea of coming to listen to music and getting dressed up,” Gould said.
This year the producers felt that one event wasn’t enough, and the slightly smaller-scale winter ball will bring Eugene its first-ever faerie occasion, featuring the last performance of tribal psychedelic rock band Kan’nal and Toby Froud, star of Jim Henson classic, “Labyrinth,” with his puppet friend Ignatz. Creatures of all kinds will have two parallel nights to look into their souls and decide whether they are good or a bad faeries.
The festival is not only about remembering ancient cultures, but also exploring alternate identities and one’s environment.
“It’s one of those things people get into when they are young, and it never leaves. It’s handed down; lots of mothers read stories to their children because that’s what they went through, and the idea that you’re magical is appealing to young girls,” Gould said.
“They spend one day trotting out their good self and then the next really exploring their bad self. It’s about renewing their spirit; people need something to be happy about,” said Gould, who hopes to eventually take the event on tour.
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