Fairies are shy folk.

Typically, the mythical, mischievous, mystical denizens of the forest – fairies, dryads, nymphs, brownies and pixies – like to stay deep within the confines of their woodland homes and are rarely seen en masse.

However, the fifth annual Spring Fairy Festival at the Lindbloom Center at Green River Community College in Auburn last Saturday provided a rare opportunity for the fantastical fairy folk to gather and celebrate the coming of spring.

For the past five years, Auburn resident Angela Wehnert – owner of Crescent Moon Gifts in Tacoma – has sponsored the event, encouraging fantasy enthusiasts to dress up in their finest fairy finery and enjoy a day with their peers.

“This started as an event for my customers,” she said. “I thought it’d be fun to throw a little fairy party for them.”

Wehnert said her expectations were modest at first. She hosted the first event in the basement of Freighthouse Square in Tacoma, where her store was  at the time.

“I thought it’d be a little party, but it turned into about 100 people the first year,” Wehnert said. “I thought, ‘Wow, there is something going on here.’ So I thought, ‘let’s make this an annual event.’”

The second festival drew more than 300 people, and the third attracted 500, Wehnert said.

After the third festival, she realized that the event had outgrown the basement.

“It just kept getting bigger,” she said. 

Luckily, a phone call from college staff, offering rental of the Lindbloom Center, solved her space problems.

“I’m an Auburn girl, so it was close to home for me,” she said. “And it’s in between Seattle and Olympia and easy to get to. They (Green River) want us here and are willing to work with us. We are going to keep growing, and we hope to make Auburn our home.”

Although the main purpose of the festival is simply to provide an opportunity for attendees to dress up – readily apparent from the myriad of colorful fantasy costumes  – Wehnert said it’s also about supporting local artists and vendors.

“We’re focused on music and dance and art, so we try to showcase local talent, handmade items and just support people in the community,” she said.

Talia Baker – dressed as the fairy Cynder for the event – and her daughter, Vinita Allen, drove all the way from Yelm to attend the event.

“For me it’s an opportunity to do something different out of the mundane day-to-day,” Baker said. “I get to dress up in something fabulous. I get to play and do some wonderful shopping. And hang out with other people who like to be adventurous and strike out from the norm.”

The festival is the second for Seattle resident Ellen Heath-Ulmer and her 10-year-old daughter, Shyan Ulmer, who dressed for the event and competed in the costume contest.

“We were trying to find something to do as a family, and so we went and checked it out and loved it,” Heath-Ulmer said. “It brought out all our creativity.

“The atmosphere is amazing. Everybody brings out their costumes, and nobody looks at you funny,” she continued. “Unless you’re on the freeway and they see you in the car, driving in costume.”

Her daughter agreed:

“I just like dressing like a fairy because it’s fun, and I get to use my imagination,” Ulmer said. “It’s just fun to go and be a fairy.”

For some it’s about the music.

Eli Chiaviello of Seattle came to support the musicians on the bill, including S.J. Tucker, Alexander James Adams and Tricky Pixie.

“I’ve followed many of them around the country,” he said. “It’s kind of bluesy, Celtic folk, just really great stuff. I’ve seen SJ Tucker in 11 different states and Vancouver B.C. I saw her last in Boston. She’s come to expect me to show up in the damnedest places.”

Although Chiaviello works during the week in an office as an administrative assistant, his real passion is volunteering as a roadie for the musical acts.

“The office work isn’t important, I’d rather be identified as a volunteer roadie,” he said.

At the core of the event’s appeal, however, is the opportunity for participants to lay aside their regular, stress-filled, modern lives for a moment, and enjoy a little magic.

“I can’t speak for everybody, but I suspect that a lot of people feel the same as me,” Chiaviello said. “The world is a better place to live in if there is magic. This is a chance to see magic in the world and get together and see it all at once, together.”

Wehnert agreed.

“I’ve always found that people are stressed out, they are paying bills, working nine-to-five, and they need a release,” Wehnert said. “They need an outlet, and I think it’s a way to connect with the inner child and go back to the days when you didn’t have to pay bills, you weren’t stuck in traffic, and you could just come and play and enjoy yourself.”