Inaugural Fairy Fest was a success
This story originally appeared in the Red Wing Republican Eagle HERE
On the evening of Aug. 16, hundreds of magical fairies visited downtown Red Wing. After a rainy afternoon, the sun came out and the inaugural Fairy Fest was a success. One fairy in attendance, Phoebe, described the whole experience as “amazing.”
The event, sponsored by Red Wing Downtown Main Street, was the brainchild of the organization’s director, Megan Tsui, and marketing manager, Pam Dusbabek. In late spring of 2023, Downtown Main Street put up fairy houses in Jordan Court, behind Mandy’s, and Tsui said, “It was so heartwarming to see little kids playing with them.” Downtown Main Street felt that downtown needed more things to welcome families and children, so they decided to build on the fairy idea, until it eventually grew to the point of the Fairy Fest.
Held in Jordan Court, the small courtyard next Mandy’s Coffee and Cafe, nearly all of the attendees were dressed in fairy wings and costumes. And they were able to add to their outfits. Fairies could get wands, flowers, and balloon animals, and they could decorate their own fairy crowns, get their faces painted, and apply temporary glitter tattoos. And across Third Street at the Red Wing Arts Clay & Creative Center, guests could do their own splatter painting to produce an Enchanted Fairy Painting.
Alison Youngs of Salon with a Twist was there with her staff offering the temporary glitter tattoos and clip-in hair extensions. Everything they offered was free.
“I didn’t want someone to not do it because they couldn’t afford it,” Youngs said.
Artisan Collective had a table at the event as well, where attendees could make miniature critters and plants (or anything else they wanted) out of polymer clay for their own fairy gardens. Katie Rausch was at the table for Artisan Collective, and echoed Youngs’ opinion that letting the kids make the miniatures for free was wonderful. She added that the best part of the event was allowing “kids to express themselves.”
Kids were not the only ones expressing themselves. The attendees ranged from infants to grandparents, and when the costume parades happened at the end of the event, there were nearly as many participants in the 20-120 age range as there were in the 6-12 range. Some adults wore kilts, while others donned pointy fairy ears and elaborate makeup.
The winner of the 6-12 age costume contest, Teagan, said it was “crazy” to have a Fairy Fest in Red Wing, and that her favorite part of being a fairy was her dress. She, like the other participants in the event, received a prize from the Red Wing Royal Ambassadors.
And it wasn’t just fairies in attendance. One boy, Nova, wore a “Fairy Security” t-shirt. He said he was there “to keep every fairy safe from that guy,” and pointed to his friend, Talon, who was dressed as a gnome, complete with a cotton ball beard and eyebrows, and a net for catching fairies.
Those who missed the Fairy Fest, or wish to continue the magic, will still be able to track down 24 hidden Fairy displays around downtown until the fairies move to warmer weather after the Red Wing Arts Fall Festival. Maps are available at Salon with a Twist, Tootsie Too’s, Mandy’s Coffee & Café and Red Wing Public Library.
