Sudbury — For two days, Camp Sehuataro Forest was a landscape of small ‘fairy houses’ made of pine cones, twigs and old tree roots, hidden under rocks and tall trees. Also, somewhere in the forest there was a “live” fairy.
Carol Drouge, known as the “Queen of the Fairies,” held up a sparkly white cane and wrapped her pastel pink hair around her shoulders as she asked 3-year-old Mee Sanders.
With pink fairy wings pinned to her back, Mia nodded and thrust out her arms as white “pixie dust” splattered on her hands from Droege’s wand. Enchanted by her brilliance, young girlfriend Mea stretched out her arms and walked away. Her eyes were unmoved as she watched them shine in the sunlight.
When Mea’s mother Gigi from Acton learned about the ‘Fairy Garden Trail’, she immediately signed up. Mea isn’t in school yet, so it’s hard to find ways to keep her safe and entertain her during the pandemic, she said, adding that the event came as a surprise to her Mea. Said her Saunders from South Africa.
“This was amazing for us. All these experiences. Not many in South Africa,” she said.
Last weekend, hundreds of parents and children up to the age of 12 strolled through the lush wonderland of Sewa Taro Camp. The experience was organized by the Thursday Garden Club of Sudbury and held at the town-owned camp at 1 Liberty Ledge Road.
The club sold 600 tickets in two weeks, according to Angela Stoller, co-chair of the Fairy Garden Trail Commission. Due to the pandemic, families were limited to that amount, spaced out at 30-minute intervals. They could have easily sold more, she said.There was a waiting list of 40 people.
From antique shows to garden tours, the club holds fundraising activities every two years. This year, Stoller came up with the idea of hosting a fairy-themed event for kids. Garden club members and the public have created their own “fairy houses” to place along the trail. About 40 of those homes were on display last weekend, some were chosen by lottery.
Families were given scavenger hunts to find specific objects that decorated their homes, such as teacups, ladybugs, and mushrooms. There were also “adult fairies” living along, and the mysterious faint sound of a flute could be heard in the distance.
Towards the end of the trail was the “fairy house” that existed before the Garden Club decided to bring its magic into the forest. The bottom was square and had a large hole inside. Camp officials decided to install a small door in front of it to tell campers that this was where the fairies lived, and they flew to Florida in the winter, Stoller said.
Rory Hudson, 4, and Emmy Dulude, 5, excitedly trotted up on Saturday afternoon and hung on a wooden door, as did 300 others that day. I came across a small wreath of purple, pink and white flowers. They were said to be enchanted and sprinkled with fairy dust by the Fairy Queen.
The mystical themes of fairy tales and princesses were what Arendelle-obsessed friend Elsa was fascinated with, Emmy’s father Jamie Durood said. Finding an event that caters to that fantasy is perfect. And it was safe.
The fairy trail lasted only two days, but it took several days to build most of the fairy houses. For Weiskopfs, it was like “10,000 hours.” Rob Weiskopf helped his wife Sandi Weiskopf, a member of the Garden Club, build a small fairy cottage.
The shingles roof alone, made from upcycled pizza box shards, took five hours to complete. The windows of the houses were framed with bars, the rocks of which were made from egg packs, and the rest were decorated with live moss and plants such as lily of the valley, lavender and birch bark.
In front of the house was a small mailbox with a stamped letter addressed to “Fairy Dust Lane” and a champagne cork table and bottle cap chairs. There was a pink flag on the roof that said “Fairy Party” and a little iced her bucket with a little bottle of wine.
Gerda Marskant built a fairy house from the roots of an old tree, placed moss on its limbs, and raised a ladder made of small twigs. She also used mostly natural materials such as pebbles for the sidewalk, and made a small chair out of wire and put a puff of cat willow on it.
“Because the fairies need a soft surface to sit on,” said Maerscant, who is also a member of the Garden Club.
Every child who passed by the Fairy Queen that day was dusted with fairy dust, said Carol Drouge, tucking her hair under her curly pink wig.
“It’s been very encouraging for my parents to bring a sense of magic and wonder to their children today,” she said. The club knows a lot about it.”
Lauren Young writes about business and pop culture. Contact her at 774-804-1499 or her lyoung@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on her Twitter @laurenwhy__.
