Posted by: Sarah Jane Hannan on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:00:00 am
Last year was our family's first time at
Faeries, Sprites & Lights! We had such a good time! Faeries, Sprites & Lights is now an annual event in our family. Prancing down the garden trails, dancing to the live folk music, playing in bubbles, watching Rumpelstiltskin, making honey comb crafts, and being surrounded by so many little faeries really makes you feel like you are living with the faeries! I took this picture in the
Oakhurst Gardens. I am not a professional photographer, just a Mommy with good timing!
[Sarah, that is truly a magical photograph!]
Enter to win the Faeries, Sprites & Lights contest here!
Posted by: Karen Karki on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:00:00 am
We always look forward to Faeries, Sprites & Lights! There is something magical about spending the evening exploring the gardens and looking for faeries! I took this photo of my daughter at the event last year. She was sure she'd see some faeries if she looked hard enough. :)
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[Karen, the colors in this photo are beautiful! Thanks for sharing and good luck in the contest!]
Enter to win the Faeries, Sprites & Lights contest here!
Posted by: Leilani Pearce on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:00:00 am
We attended Faeries, Sprites & Lights for the first
time last year. It was right before my youngest turned 3, and I figured it
would be a great start to her birthday.
I hand-made their faerie skirts and tiaras, dusted them
with glitter and added small little bells to their skirts to help them sparkle
and twinkle.
They entered through the small faerie door and into the
magical Oakhurst Gardens. They held out their little maps and started in on
their adventure. As a faerie mommy, I was tickled. My girls were 4 years old
and 2 years old and I could see them become more and more excited the further
in we went.
From the bubble garden, to the music and dancing, to the
sweet treats and harpist, I was so happy that we had gone. I knew that the
magic of their imagination had been reignited.
My favorite part of the night was watching my girls dance
hand in hand with other little faeries and sprites to awesome Celtic music.
Seeing all the little girls and boys enjoy each others company and the magic of
the night. I couldn't wait to go back.
As I put my little faeries to bed that night, glitter
still twinkling in their hair, they couldn't wait to look for faeries in our
backyard the rest of the Summer.
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[Enchanting story, Leilani! We hope your little faeries have a magical time again this year!]
Enter to win a free family pass to Faeries, Sprites & Lights!
Posted by: Deborah Miller on Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:00:00 am
My daughter, Brenley, and I attend FS&L every year, and every year it gets better and better. The highlight for us is always the Fairy Tea Party - I love the tiny cucumber sandwiches, and Brenley loves the chocolate-dipped strawberries. It's been fun over the years trying to teach her the proper tea-party etiquette! The best part of it all is the memories we've made - putting on her wings and a sprinkle of "fairy dust" glitter, searching through the enchanted forests for tiny fairy homes, walking the paths lit by luminaries with fairy music floating in the air, and the pure simple happiness that comes from just being together.
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[Deborah & Brenley, cheers! Love the happy smiles :) ]
Enter to win a free family pass to Faeries, Sprites & Lights!
Posted by: Stephanie Fisher on Monday, June 27, 2011 at 12:00:00 am
A little girl with a vivid imagination and ambition set out for the lush gardens behind her home and discovered a magical world of faeries and sprites. She held tea parties, along with her playmate and best friend, Emily. The little girl was Elisabeth “Betty” Ball, an only child and daughter of George and Frances
Ball. Surrounded by spring beauties and bluebells in Oakhurst Gardens—imagined garden faeries joined Betty and Emily as guests for tea! One morning Betty even told her mother she believed she really did see a faerie in the garden.
Betty’s best childhood friend was Emily Kimbrough. Together Emily and Betty spent hours in the gardens of Oakhurst often tying little boxes of “magic concoctions” to trees throughout the gardens to attract faeries.
Do you have faeries living in your backyard? Have you ever been to a tea party? Have you been to Faeries, Sprites & Lights at Minnetrista in the past? Tell us about your encounters with faeries and send us a picture to enter the Faeries, Sprites & Lights giveaway! We're giving away free tickets to three lucky winners! Each winner will receive a free, four-person pass to Faeries, Sprites & Lights, July 8 & 9.
Enter the Contest Here
Faeries, Sprites & Lights
Wings and wands are common sights seen wandering around when Oakhurst Gardens becomes a faerie wonderland each summer. Luminaries light up Oakhurst Gardens in July as faeries dance and flitter around in celebration of the annual Faeries, Sprites, and Lights event that draws more than 1,400 children and their families to Minnetrista over two days. This year marks the 16th mid-summer celebration of Faeries, Sprites, and Lights honoring Elisabeth Ball and her imagination as a child spent playing throughout the Courtyard, Sunken, and Formal Gardens in Oakhurst. Oakhurst Woodland provides added mystery and fascination for catching a glimpse of a colorful fae character sneaking up on you! Music, luminaries, theatre and more make this one of the most popular annual Minnetrista events.
Faeries, Sprites, and Lights takes place July 8–9; 6–9 p.m. at Oakhurst Gardens and is sponsored by Indiana Michigan Power. Cost is $4 for members; $5 for non-members. The Faerie Tea Party
also takes place July 9; 10 a.m.–Noon & 1–3 p.m. Cost for the Faerie Tea Party is $10 for members; $12 for non-members.
