In which we do the storytelling thing...with wings. And also: Becky.

Becky emailed me a couple of weeks ago:

"There's going to be a fairy festival, and they are looking for a storyteller."

Backdrop for our performance space was a detailed replica of Stonehenge...
made of painted foam blocks!

Jim and I headed down to St Helens, Oregon on Friday afternoon--through ungodly traffic in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, over the Longview bridge to the peaceful two-lane highway running along the western bit of the Columbia River...to Becky's house!

Becky's backyard (finally!) has horses in it.  It's a beautiful spot.
I didn't get many photos of Becky's place and family because the camera was uncooperative, but I snuck out
and grabbed this image on Sunday morning while most of the world was still sleeping.

The Festival of the Fairies  is a brand new event.  Ideally, the grounds would be thick with the fluttering of wings and the excited shouts of tiny fairies and their parents scampering around and enjoying the activities and artwork.

Tomten Jim and the Wishing Tree

In reality, the weather (grey, wet, and dismal) ensured lots of room for takeoffs and landings.

Tomten Jim and Rainbow Joe had plenty of room to create enormous bubbles

For storytelling, though, small crowds are ideal.

"The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle"

A small group allows the teller (or tellers--Jim and I did several tandem stories, but of course, nobody was available to take pictures of that!)

"The Leprechaun and the Field of Buttercups"

 to select a story especially for the listeners, 

"Middle Woman and the Dragon"

without having to rely on a set list as we do in front of a crowd.

"The Fortunetellers"

It was a grand weekend, and we got to hang out with some wonderful people.

Rainbow Joe twists amazing balloon creatures, and Shauna Fae is a talented face painter

We hope to return soon--

with wings on!