The Maryland Faerie Festival Celebrates the Faeries

SILVER SPRING, Md., May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The fourth annual Maryland Faerie Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 7th and 8th, at the Patuxent 4H Center, 18405 Queen Anne Road, Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20774, between 10am and 6pm. Admission is $3 for ages 3-11, and $10 for ages 12-99. Everyone in costume receives a $1 discount. Guests under age 3 or over 99 are free.

Set amidst fairytale fields of giant flowers and mushrooms, the Maryland Faerie Festival celebrates the imagination, fun and mischief of Faerie traditions around the world. The festival will feature a unicorn, Maypole dances, wandering minstrels, belly dancers, the King and Queen of the Woodland Faeries, and scores of fabulous fantasy costumes.

Younger Faeries will enjoy activities like making their own wand, learning to draw Faeries and decorating a wizard's hat. Children can make a wish at the Wishing Grove, and send it to the Faeries, or learn how to make houses for the Faeries. There is a storyteller on duty at all times, and an entire stage of entertainment geared to younger visitors.

Older visitors will also find much to please them at the festival. Headline bands Telesma and ilyAIMY, and Scott Helland and the Gypsy Nomads, will perform live music on the main stage. Nationally recognized Faerie artists Jessica Galbreth and Brigid Ashwood will offer classes in drawing. Author Rosemary Ellen Guiley, a noted authority on magical beings, will teach a class called "Bringing the Faeries into Your Life."

The festival will provide educational and outreach opportunities for groups promoting diligent stewardship of Nature. Representatives from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Accokeek Foundation and Patuxent Riverkeepers will be available to teach fairgoers how they can help the Faeries keep Mother Earth green.

When it's shopping time, there will be 75 booths of crafters and vendors at the festival inspired by the Faerie traditions from all over the world. Jewelry, toys, clothing, herbal creations, wings, costumes, crystals, pottery and masks are just some of the Faerie-themed items at the Maryland Faerie Festival.

The Faeries dine in style at the Maryland Faerie Festival. With selections ranging from barbequed ribs to peanut noodles, and organic iced teas to Faerie berry pie, both vegetarians and meat eaters will find plenty to please them. Or, fairgoers can bring their own picnic to the festival, and simply sit back and enjoy the scenery.

For the first time this year, the festival will offer evening entertainment on Saturday night at the Summerfest Twilight Festival. This special event will feature a banquet and bonfire, bellydancing and fire artistry, as well as performances by Telesma, ilyAIMY, and Scott Helland and the Gypsy Nomads. Fairgoers are invited to bring their drums and instruments for a drum circle. Summerfest tickets are $40.00, and must be purchased separately from general admission. Tickets are limited and advance reservations strongly recommended.

For more information, visit http://www.marylandfaeriefestival.org/.

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Source: Maryland Faerie Festival

CONTACT: Christian Stone, +1-301-442-3021, or Caroline Kenner,
+1-301-412-1760, both for Maryland Faerie Festival

Web site: http://www.marylandfaeriefestival.org/

2008-05-27 17:05:18 0371077 PRNEWSWIRE