Fairies Fare Well, Whatever the Weather

Christa Smalligan's fairy house creation: Stump Studio

​​Sunshine smiled on the Enchanted Forest, AKA Camp Newaygo, for at least part of last Saturday, but Sunday's downpours had fairy-folk scrambling to take shelter under toadstools. No worries, though. Quick-thinking Camp Newaygo staffers whisked gnome homes and pixie palaces out of the wet woods and into drier hiding places, where twinkly lights made fairy-house hunting just as enchanting.

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Camp Newaygo's Lang Lodge

​​The occasion was the two-day Enchanted Forest walk, a fundraiser for the independent not-for-profit camp located on 104 acres along a chain of lakes in the Manistee National Forest region of mid-western Michigan.

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Sun and Moon by Sally Kane and Zoe Erin Hance

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​Last year's Enchanted Forest event was a great success, and this year's appeal to artists and craftspeople to create and donate fairy houses again yielded a fanciful assortment of tiny abodes—forty-seven in all.

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Wild West Nest by Fremont Middle School Art Club

​​It's always fun to see what imaginative people use to craft these dwellings: tree stumps, gourds, clay, copper wire, twigs, feathers, tin cans. One of this year's creations was made from a cowgirl's boot. Another had a hornet's nest worked into the design.

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Beehive Bower by Sarah Roys

Camp Newaygo's Wetland Trail

​​Ray and I got a close look at many of them when we helped hide the homes in the woods and along the Wetland Trail early Saturday morning. Then, as visitors began arriving and heading out with trail maps, we made the rounds again to watch them discover the little houses.

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Young visitors find a fairy house

​We had fun watching visitors' reactions to our own creations, too, both the fairy house and the story that went along with it.

Our fairy house, Teen CANteen, came with a story

Reading the story

Summer House by Valerie Deur

"We were so excited to see families outside and enjoying the houses that were hidden on the trails," said Christa Smalligan, the camp's Events and Facilities Director. "Camp Newaygo is a great place for families to enjoy activities together. I heard many kids found some fairies in the woods."

​​If you missed out on the enchantment—or if you'd like a chance to relive it--here's a look at more of the fairy houses and the weekend's fun. And if you'd like a fairy house for your very own, all the houses pictured here--and more--are available for purchase on ebay through May 8. Proceeds help fund the camp's youth and family programs as well as renovations to facilities such as the Foster Arts and Crafts Lodge.

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Saturday's event started with a make-and-take garden craft project

A make-and-take creation

Small visitors could also make bubble wands to use at bubble stations along the trails

Red Door Cottage by Mary Beth Cooper

Here's one!

And another one!

Hawaiian Hut by Peggy Straathof

Beatnik Bungalow by Debbie Bell

Copper Manor by Eileen Kent

On the trail and on the lookout

Featherglow Cottage by Ava Jansen

Checking out a creation

Fairy Zip Line by Sue Barthold

Artist's Abode by Lisa Edwards

Fairy finery

Little Jewels by Sue Monterusso

Arwen's Shelter by Ella Jansen

Now where did we hide those houses??

Fairy Space Camp by Mary Beth Cooper

Fairy Nursery by Mary Perrigo

Pine Cottage by Lisa and Ben Whittaker

Gnome Home by Marcia Holcomb

Mushroom Hunt by Shelby Prickett

Events and Operations Director Christa Smalligan even sprouted wings for the occasion

Fairrrrghy Treehouse by Scott Lakin

Detail of Fairrrrghy Treehouse

Detail of Fairrrrghy Treehouse

Vitek School for Fairies & Gnomes by Vicki Sovinski

Check out the eraser table with crayon legs

. . . and the fairy swing set

Treetop Retreat by Nina Fox

Tiny fairy about to take flight

Tower and Green Man Totem by Dawn Campbell

Coil Tower by Maureen Roslanic

Button Hideaway by Darlene Barkowski

Leaf Hall by Brenda Huckins Bonter

The Polly Stump Center by Caitlin Phillips

Enchanting encounter

Farewell, fairies, until next year!