GRAFTON — Since 2007, the Nature Museum has been welcoming visitors from across New England to its annual Fairy House Festival, described in a news release as “a family-friendly celebration of nature, creativity, inspiration, and community.”
This year's edition takes place on Saturday, Sept. 25 and Sunday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the fields and woods behind the museum, at 186 Townshend Rd.
Guests of all ages can walk the forested fairy house trail and discover a magical village filled with uniquely crafted fairy schools, libraries, and playgrounds. Visitors can make their own fairy houses and enjoy face painting, music, bubbles, crafts, local food, and more.
In the weeks leading up to the event, volunteers comb fields, stream banks, forests, beaches, and hilltops for moss, bark, pine cones, twigs, pebbles, acorns, and other natural materials.
With these ingredients and a lot of imagination, builders craft a unique and spontaneous fairy village of dozens of individual fairy buildings.
“Some structures are lighthearted and cozy, while others are spellbinding and intricate,” event organizers write. “Each fairy house is a reflection of its creator, celebrating the individuality among the volunteers who make the magic happen year after year.”
Natural materials are also available at the festival, where the museum's gardens become a fairy house construction zone, and festival attendees young and old “are able to create little homes and leave them there overnight for the garden fairies to nest in,” the organizers continue.
All proceeds support the year-round programming of the Nature Museum, which includes free programming for kids through the summer, immersive experiences in nature for kids and adults, a new Magic Forest Playscape, and resources for teachers and schools to learn about the regional environment.