Faerieworlds was an annual music and arts festival currently held annually in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. The festival's primary theme was the "realm of the

faerie Fairyland (Early Modern English: ''Faerie''; (Scottish mythology; cf. (Norse mythology)) in English and Scottish folklore is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or ''fays''. Old French (Early Modern English ) referred to an illusion or enchan ...

". As of 2015, the festival moved to Hornings Hideout near Portland after many recent festivals had been held at Mount Pisgah in the Howard Buford Park Recreation Area southeast of

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

. The 2015-2019 festivals were held at Horning's Hideout and 2020 saw a virtual event take place on the live stream platform PORTL. The 2021 date was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic, and in 2022 resumed, taking place at the Cuthbert Theater in Eugene, Oregon. In 2023, all future events were cancelled and their LLC was legally dissolved due to under-performance and financial issues as a result of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic.

Events

Faerieworlds was started by Emilio and Kelly Miller-Lopez of the musical group Woodland, and Robert Gould of the transmedia arts company Imaginosis. The festival features artists, authors, musicians and crafters whose work is connected to or inspired by

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, specifically faerie lore.

Locations

Faerieworlds Festivals have now taken place in Sedona and

Prescott, Arizona Prescott ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona Territory, r ...

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

North Plains, Oregon North Plains is a city in Washington County, Oregon, Washington County, Oregon, United States, off U.S. Route 26 in Oregon, U.S. 26 on the northwest Rural-urban fringe, outskirts of the Portland metropolitan area. The population was 3,441 at the ...

, and from 2005 to 2008 at Secret House Winery in Veneta, Oregon. Faerieworlds 2009 was moved to Mount Pisgah to accommodate a larger number of daily attendees and to allow onsite camping to thousands of guests, and it was held there from 2010 to 2014. In 2014, the Lane County Board of Commissioners voted to not allow Faerieworlds, and another event, to use the Buford Park location in 2015. The result of this was a return of the festival to Hornings Hideout, an outdoor festival venue just west of Portland Oregon.

Performers and artists

The festival main stage has included such acts as

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

, Lindsey Stirling, Omnia,

Wardruna Wardruna is a Norwegian music group formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy-Fay Hella. They create musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions and make significant use of Nordic historical and traditional instr ...

Faun The faun (, ; , ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts ( genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before t ...

, Rasputina, Solas, Woodland,

Kíla Kíla is an Irish folk music group formed in 1987 in Coláiste Eoin, an Irish language secondary school in County Dublin. History Early formation The original lineup of the band included Rossa Ó Snodaigh (whistle and Bones (instrument), bon ...

, Johnny Cunningham, Susan McKeown,

John Renbourn John Renbourn (8 August 1944 – 26 March 2015) was an English guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo care ...

Karan Casey Karan Casey (born 1969) is an Irish folk singer, and a former member of the Irish band Solas. She resides in Cork, Ireland. Early years Casey was born in Ballyduff Lower, Kilmeaden, County Waterford, Ireland. Her family encouraged her to si ...

, Gaia Consort, Frenchy and the Punk, Sharon Knight, Priscilla Hernandez and

Qntal Qntal is a Music of Germany, German "electro-medieval" band (music), band founded in 1991 by Michael Popp and Ernst Horn. They later added singing, vocalist Syrah (Sigrid Hausen) to complete the band. The band has roots in Estampie (band), Esta ...

. Artists and authors featured at Faerieworlds have included Brian Froud, Tony DiTerlizzi, Michael Hague, Wendy Froud, Jen Delyth,

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958, in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram St ...

, Charles Vess,

Charles De Lint Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer. Primarily a writer of fantasy fiction, he has composed works of urban fantasy, contemporary magical realism, and mythic fiction. Along with authors like Terri Windling, Emma Bull ...

and Amy Brown.

FaerieCon

The creators of Faerieworlds also produce an event on the east coast called FaerieCon International, which first took place on the weekend of October 10–12, 2007–2008 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

at the

Pennsylvania Convention Center The Pennsylvania Convention Center is a multi-use public facility in the Market East, Philadelphia, Market East section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events. The L-shaped ...

. FaerieCon moved to Baltimore in 2009 and took place at the Baltimore Marriott Hunt Valley Inn in 2009–2018, and the Sheraton Baltimore Waterfront Hotel in 2019. The 2020 event was canceled due to the ongoing pandemic. In February 2012 and 2013 FaerieCon West was held at the Renaissance Hotel in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. FaerieCon West eventually was renamed Mythicworlds: Convention and Masquerades, which took place annually at the Seatac Doubletree Hilton in 2017 and 2018.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Faerieworlds Festival official siteFaerieCon official site
Arts festivals in the United States Fairies in popular culture Science fiction conventions in the United States Festivals in Oregon Culture of Eugene, Oregon Annual events in Oregon Conventions in Oregon