We left the Portland area by 10AM on Saturday for a hedonistic fun-filled day of people watching at the 2008 Faerieworlds Festival at Secret House Winery. I missed last year and was just blown away at how big this festival has become! It was three times larger than the first year: three times the vendors and three times the crowd! There were so many faeries, Elves, and Other Beings to see and everyone seemed to be in a high mood (except security, but I think they just choose to look dour). I took 125 photos (some are best described as WRONG, but I’ll figure out how to post those later) of some very wonderful fey people. I can’t post pictures of this fey person because I haven’t received any from my friend (she took some of me).
My friend in the morning.
We walked through about a third of the vendors before we decided to return to the car and eat a picnic lunch. My friend changed to a cooler costume then:
Luna the Moon Goddess felt much better in her lighter costume.
Unlike me, she wore her mask all day and remained in character. She’s such a drama queen!
After lunch, it was back to wander through more vendors. We walked until our little footsies hurt. Every one of the vendors was nice and several “insisted” on putting their wares on Chrystal to show her how she’d look. There was the $100 headpiece (no photo allowed since I wouldn’t buy it, but she looked really pretty and the headpiece was adorned with fiber optic lights – well worth the $100) and the $100 “Elf Ears.”
They were carved out of bone and she said they didn’t weigh very much.
She had to settle for the more useful $50 Elf Hoodie which you can’t see very well in this photo, but which will last her a very long time. She *really* wanted the hoodie, anyway.
But enough about us. One of the things I like best about Faerieworlds are the family units. And the wee faeries.
This wee Faerie was probably my favorite.
Pure hedonism belongs to the very young who know nothing else.
The Queen of the Bumblebees made an appearance.
This horned little Faerie was on a roll.
Every time I tried to capture this family unit, they moved. I managed to capture this one wee waif by herself (the rest are in the background – there were several wee ones).
She exemplifies the shop-’til-you-drop hopes of the vendors here as her little faerie treasure bag sags to the ground.
This pair was one of my favorites. He was nestled up against his mom’s neck when I asked if I could get a photo of her with her stunning headpiece. I was taken by her innocence and youth and his tired little face with the “what?” expression.
The first time I saw this couple, all I noticed was their smiles.
I wish the wee faerie would have turned to look at me when I took this. His parents still have their beatific smiles on their faces.
Isn’t she adorable? Her equally tall husband had equally pink hair, but I never could seem to catch him or the little boy faerie. They were always smiling, too.
The little black-winged faerie was also a budding belly dancer. Here she is, patiently waiting for her mom.
This was mom. Looks like she’s getting her necklaces adjusted by a photographer whom I assumed to be her husband.
Wait! What’s this? A rush of sudden movement to the side! An intervening Elf!
The purple faerie was unsuccessful in her attempt to thwart the brave Elf, and he arrived at his bride’s side just as the photographer was finished playing with her necklace. He looks a little bashful about having presumed something else was happening.
“I ask your forgiveness, Fair Faerie Mother and Handsome Elf Father. I did not mean for your handsome Elf to race here, narrowly avoiding the evil Purple Faerie, only to find you did not need rescuing.”
“You are forgiven Sir Photographer, but only if my Fair Faerie Wife can be on the cover of the next Faerie Magazine.”
All the while, the beautiful black-winged daughter dances to the distant music of Celtic drums.
I almost deleted the Purple Faerie because she ran right in front of my camera, but then I realized I had a story here.
I won’t bore you with any more pictures today. Tomorrow, I’ll post some more of the wonderful creatures I spied while wandering the faerie wood at Secret House Winery.
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Jaci Dawn 