Fairy Festival & House Building Contest
Saturday, August 23 / 10 AM – 5 PM
General Admission PLUS $10 Contest Entry Fee

Register for Fairy House Building Contest

Join VINS for a fairy special day! Discover the forest through hands-on play and celebrate creativity with the art form that is fairy houses, build for fun, or enter in our contest for a chance to win a private experience! Be sure to hit the trails for a fairy hunt for the chance to explore and learn about the forest around you while searching for our fairy friends. Enjoy the day with other magical activities such as, a guided mushroom walk, tales of the fae, crafts, face painting, a bubble lab, and fantastically themed live animal programs!

Costumes are highly encouraged!

Event Schedule

10 AM – 5 PM
Wand Making
Create your own magical fairy wand to take home.

10 AM – 5 PM
Bubble Lab
Step into a world of wonder with giant, shimmering bubbles.

10 AM – 3 PM
Fairy Hunts
Join the Fairy Court to help search the forest for our hidden fairy friends in a scavenger hunt adventure!

10 AM – 2 PM
Fairy Face Painting
Transform into a woodland fairy with sparkling face art.

10:30 – 11 AM
Turtle Tea Time
What snacks do turtles bring to tea? Join Jersey the Box Turtle and Turt the Wood Turtle for their morning breakfast.

11 AM – 11:30 AM & 3 PM – 3:30 PM
Shapeshifting Sprites
Join our fairy friends to witness the magic of transfiguration as they shapeshift into birds! Learn about what it takes to be a bird and what magical changes exist between our worlds.

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Mushroom Walk
Join naturalist, mycologist and professional photographer Meg Madden for a curiosity walk in search of fabled fungi along VINS Nature trails. Sign up at table under neale pavilion limited spots available.

1 PM – 1:30 PM
Tales of the Fae
Join the Longshanks for a mix of stilt walking, storytelling, skits, and songs detailing traditional Adirondack tall tales.

3:30 PM – 3:45 PM
Fairy House Building Contest – Winners Announced
Celebrate the creativity with the art form that is fairy houses, and learn who the winners are!

4:15 PM – 4:30 PM
Flights of Fantasy
Join Chesterland the Harris’s Hawk for his fantastic forest flights on the Forest Canopy Walk.

Fairy House Building Contest

The Contest is open for anyone to build up until the deadline of 1 PM on August 23. Registration does not cover admission.

All materials (with the exception of adhesives) must be non-living when gathered and sourced from nature. Materials cannot be gathered from a pre-existing fairy house.

Placement: houses must be placed at a designated spot along the Fairy Town Trail. Upon placement please fill out an information card provided. Houses can be placed no later than 1 PM on August 23, and may be constructed and placed as early as August 16 during regular business hours (10 AM – 5 PM). Houses can be built on site, or off sight and brought in for placement.

Houses must be built to fit within an area of 2ft by 2ft. There are no restrictions on height or weight.

Winners for each age category will be selected by a panel of judges and awarded with a gift bag from the VINS Nature Store. A crowd favorite will be voted on from within all the categories to receive a grand prize of a VINS Private Experience – Animal Encounter. The winning houses will be announced at 3:30 PM on August 23.

For more information contact us at info@vinsweb.org or 802.359.5000.