The 2010 Fairy House Tour was a great success. Someone remarked, "I loved your Fairy House Tour last year, but this one is even better. You really stepped it up a notch!"
Well over 500 people of all ages came to Grafton to see what professional artists and enthusiasts had created along the trail in the Village Park behind The Nature Museum. People came from Boston, MA; Troy, NY; Keene, NH; and more. They loved the new "houses" on exhibit; the crafts; the wafting bubbles children stretched to catch; the opportunity to speak with Tracy Kane, hear her read, and have her autograph her books. They loved the amazingly inspirational materials they could use to build their own houses in the Museum's gardens and also - because some could not stand to see an inviting empty spot - even along the trail in the park. Thirty people cared enough to return on Sunday to do it all over again!
The official tour entries this year numbered thirty-one and thematically ranged from the more spiritual "Now" or "The House of Belonging" to the abstract "Sculpture Garden" to the imaginative Fairy Wildlife Sanctuary, where bees soared in the air, to The Quilt House, where small children could actually have nestled inside, to a steel flower house, to the fairy tale of the Three Little Pigs, to a school, art studio, ice cream party, Fairyland, whole fairy villages and individual charming houses, the Grafton Soapstone Quarry (pleading for strong wee folk workers), the intriguing Fairy Conversion Chamber and Recovery Zone, and more.
The details were imaginative and exquisite. We invite you to look at the pictures closely and especially check out the tiny elements in...
- A Fairy Autumn Harvest
- Woodland Art Studio
- Fairy Playspace
- Fairy Library (did you ever see such an inviting library where you could even eat!)
- Fall Fairy Fair (could you see the Ferris wheel?)
- Fairy Woodworking Studio
- Birches Fairy Village (did you find the frying pan on the stove or the ceiling fan?)
- Tweedle Weed School of Dance (Did you see the tiny acorn bucket and reflecting water in the stone well?)
Graceful natural materials abounded in...
- Baederwood
- Welcome Home
- Chamber's Community
- Hideaway Beech Resort
- The Fairy Nursery
- Fairy Swimming Pools.
Did you examine all the details in the Fairy Lapidary, where jewels and minerals would be fashioned into works of beauty? That more lasting exhibit - fashioned entirely of stone, minerals, and gems - is going to another museum for permanent display. It's always so amazing that entries with a broad general theme and common guidelines can end up being so entirely different.
The separate list of the 31 featured exhibits and their participants gives the specific entry titles, creators, and/or entering organizations. Those entries are identified and numbered for reference in the pictures from the 2010 tour. Click here to see those pictures and also unnumbered photos of structures created by participants on the tour days, as well as pictures of people generally enjoying themselves. For the days were magical. Tracy Kane's big bubble machine had children dancing and trying to catch the fleeting, floating orbs. Festive picnics abounded. The weather was fantastic, and the scene was one of creativity and joy from tiny tots to grandparents.
For the success of this event, we are most grateful to our sponsors: Underwriters Anne and Tom Grape (second year of support, this year increased!), Sustaining Supporter (for the second year!) Cota & Cota, and Donors Salmon and Nostrand Attorneys at Law (second year of support!) and new supporter Barrett and Valley Associates, Inc. We also appreciate contributions from the Davis Insurance Agency and Art and Sue Greenbaum. Our funders and amazing in-kind supporters - the Old Tavern at Grafton (accommodations for Tracy and Barry Kane), the Windham Foundation (parking and other facilities help), and NewsBank of Chester for printing all of our posters and programs - helped us keep our expenses as low as possible to benefit the Museum's educational programs and exhibits.
Thanks go to all the supporters, exhibitors, volunteers, and visitors who made the 2010 tour such a success.
