Gloria Yaeger never knows what kind of last-minute additions might be made to the festival she created almost two decades ago.
“Last year somebody came as an aerialist. She set up her aerial and said ‘no, I just want to do this.’ I got the OK for her to do that and the patrons really enjoyed it,” Yeager said. “You never know. People are really spontaneous. They’ll bring their instruments sometimes and they’ll get a little corner and they’ll just entertain for a while.”
Maybe the spontaneity can be attributed to a bit of faerie magic? The World of Faeries Festival returns for its 18th year from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 6 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 7 at Vasa Park in South Elgin. This year’s theme is Unicorn Dreams.
“I believe we are the oldest (faerie) festival in Illinois, if not the country,” said Yaeger, who founded the festival with her husband, David. “Several of them have folded up.”
Despite COVID-19 concerns last year, the 2021 festival drew a large crowd, with an estimated 1,500-1,800 people attending over the weekend.
“People came, and we were amazed. The parking lot just filled up. We had a good crowd and I expect the same thing this year. We’re really pleased,” Yaeger said. “We’ve grown over the years and word-of-mouth and many families have grown up with the festival … They always share their pictures with us and they’re a lot of fun.
“It’s not, by standards, a Bristol or any of the larger festivals,” she said. “It’s small and intimate. We’re happy with that count. It’s manageable.”
General admission tickets are $15, with a $2 discount on single and pairs of tickets purchased in advance online. At the gate only are discount senior tickets for $8 and a weekend pass for $25. Cash only accepted at the gate. All children 12 and younger are free.
Each year the family-friendly festival draws faerie and fantasy enthusiasts — many in full costumes — to Vasa Park. Music, storytelling, dance, tea parties, crafts and more fill the weekend.
“It’s a fun weekend,” Yaeger said. “We have volunteers that just intermingle with the crowd.”
Families can even choose to go on a quest. This year, it’s the Unicorn Power Quest.
“We get the families involved in that, and it’s more or less a scavenger hunt,” said Yaeger, who lives in Elgin. “It keeps them busy. Many of the families stay in the park for hours doing the quest. It makes for a nice day.”
Forty-five vendors will be on-site selling a variety of faerie and fantasy-related products.
“Many of the vendors, if not all, do hand crafts,” Yaeger said. “Many of them will use the theme to create their merchandise and products.”
Food vendors will also sell festival food like hot dogs, burgers and soda along Italian specialties, smoothies and more. The festival is alcohol free.
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“If you want to bring your own picnic basket and you don’t want to partake in what’s available for food or if you have a special diet, we have picnic tables available,” Yeager said.
Scheduled entertainment includes sword fighting demonstrations with Swords of Valour, a living statue and storytelling and coloring pages with MerBubbles the mermaid.
“She does her own original stories,” Yaeger said. “She writes them and shares them with the crowd and children.”
Musicians will perform a variety of genres including Celtic sounds with Todd Menton, progressive world music with Greg Herriges, and “acoustic-alternative post-punk cabaret duo” Frenchy and the Punk.
“The big draw is always the Harp Twins. They have been all over the country and in Europe,” Yaeger said. “This is year the special thing is they’re coming for both days, Saturday and Sunday. This makes us very happy because they have a huge, huge following.”
The identical twin harpists perform heavy metal on electric harps. Also performing both days is multi-instrumentalist Nazario Chickpeazio.
“Chickpeazio is a Ren Faire favorite. He also plays all kinds of instruments. His wife, Leah … she makes puppets. So in between they do roaming music and the stage and she also uses her almost life-size puppets next to the children,” Yaeger said. “She does little shows with them.”
The full schedule of events is available on the festival website at theworldoffaeries.com.
Yeager said people come to the festival because they’re drawn to doing something that’s a lot of fun.
“When I look around on the weekend of the festival, I say this is why we’re doing it,” Yaeger said. “Everybody seems to be so happy.”
The World of Faeries Festival
When: Aug. 6-7
Where: Vasa Park, 35 W 217 Route 31, South Elgin
Tickets: $13-$15 general admission; seniors (65+) $8 at the gate; weekend pass $25 at the gate; children 12 and under free
Information: 815-245-5982; theworldoffaeries.com
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News.