Boone’s Annual Fairy Day Brings Magic to all Ages

Performers and kids dance in a circle at Fairy Day. Fairy Day takes place every year during summer. Performers, vendors, and volunteers come together to create this magical day. “I´m definitely used to dancing in all kinds of costumes,” said Grace Young, a performer at Fairy Day. “But I will say it's a lot harder to clog when you're wearing a corset at Fairy Day and have wings on.” Photo credit: Sita Cooper.

Sita Cooper, Staff Writer for The Spark.

On an August day, children and their families were met with fairy dust sprinkled in people’s hair, long dresses swirling through the gardens, fluttering music, light spilling through trees, and branches dancing in the wind. Fairies in the trees watch over those drinking lemonade, and wings brush against each other as people walk through the booths. 

This year, Fairy Day took place on August 29, but it is normally a July event. When Watauga residents think of Fairy Day, they may think of a children's event. In reality, there are aspects for all ages. Vendors sell handmade jewelry, stained glass, fresh squeezed lemonade, cotton candy, coloring books, wands and more. There are also people doing fairy hair and face paint, as well as leading singalongs or performing. 

Where do high schoolers fit into all of this? From performing to volunteering to simply stopping at vendors booths, students have various ways of being a part of this whimsical event. 

Grace Young, a senior at Watauga High School, has been in ballet since she was two years old. In addition to ballet, Young does tap, lyrical, jazz, and has participated in other forms of dance.

 “I’ve performed at Fairy Day with clogging for the past several years,” said Young. “Throughout each year, we have different dances that we prepare for. The dances that we did were our dances that we had been using for a competition.” 

Young had been participating in Fairy Day activities long before she began performing. When someone reached out to her studio, she was eager about the opportunity to dance at Fairy Day.

“One reason I was especially excited to dance at fairy day this year is because I really enjoy getting to work with some of the younger kids,” said Young. “I really enjoy mentoring young kids with clogging. I’ve worked at summer camps before with a lot of different ages. And with ballet I’ve done a lot of mentoring of young kids.”

Like Young, other high school students enjoy the magic of Fairy Day. Declan Guggenheimer, a senior at Watauga High School, enjoys volunteering at Fairy Day, which he has done for the past four years.

“You sign up to bring tables, bring tents, help the vendors, take their wares to and from their vehicles, to wherever their stalls would be located,” said Guggenheimer. “Setup takes two and a half hours, but closing it down takes an hour, hour and a half.”

Guggenheimer started volunteering because he knew Patricia Rusch, who used to organize Fairy Day. Even though volunteering was how he got involved, he also loves the happenings and the event itself.

“I really like the vendors. It reminds me of a mini Renaissance fair, to be honest with you,” said Guggenheimer. “But also just all the live performances, theater shows, tap and clogging performances. They’re all incredible.”

As well as enjoying the performances, Guggenheirmer believes that it is important to support the Boone Botanical Gardens and help them keep the Fairy Day tradition alive. 

“I would say it's a really great experience because there's something very special about Fairy Day in general, just because Boone doesn't have a whole lot of really unique special events that occur every year,” said Guggenheirmer. “And that is one of them where I feel like the community can really connect over something as whimsical as fairies.”