5 Days Left for the Festival of Legends Kickstarter!

 
This is a great event, and Eric and I will be attending and frolicking as merry fae must when spring arrives!

If you are in North Carolina or nearby, consider visiting this fun festival.  You have 5 days left to get VIP tickets via Kickstarter, which is a good deal.  Eric and I are getting VIP parking, swag bags, and Festival of Legends beer stein and shotglass.  Whoo!

If you do come out, look for a faun and a kender running around causing mischief.

Happy Spring, lovelies!

Cabaret and Goblins and Spring!

 I haven't been on here much, I know.  Nor on Twitter or Facebook or other social media, and I'm starting to get phone calls from friends as they ensure that I'm not purposefully avoiding them.

Here's my very good reasons for being so far away right now:

Image by Modern Scribe Photography

Eric and I are members and the costumers for Bombs Away Cabaret.  My character is real sweet, y'all....her name is Iona Traylor (say it out loud!). 

BAC is dedicated to restoring burlesque to it's comedic roots, and protecting the integrity of the art form that is cabaret. Most of our music in the shows are original creations, and we write our own plays as well...and we are goofy, cheesy, and sexy!  I love this group.

Our shows are not for profit - we choose a local charity every year to reap the benefits of our shakes and shimmies.  This year, our show opened on 4/20, and it is called "High Skirts: Illicitly Yours" - subtle, right?  We perform four shows each weekend, and we sold out 3 of our 4 shows this past week!  We'll see how this coming weekend goes, and send the proceeds to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, a fabulous no-kill shelter who is working to buy their kennel property.

So there hasn't been much posting or gardening, as I've been sewing silk pot leaves to bras and bedazzling underwear.

 And then...

Eric and Amber DePixi with Gandersnitch the Goblin
at Festival of Legends, April 2012

The 1st Festival of Legends took place in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in April. 

Eric and I know some amazing performers from festivals like the Maryland Renaissance Faire and the Carolina Royal Faire, and when some of them informed us that there was an effort to create a new Faerie/Fantasy Festival in North Carolina, we were thrilled!

The Festival of Legends was in large part a community funded event, some of their funds being raised via Kickstarter.  Eric and I got in on the earlybird VIP ticket purchase but couldn't make it to the festival for it's opening day.  So on a cold, wet, rainy Sunday, we drove the 4 hours to get to Chapel Hill.

We dressed as Kender, since we needed to wear layers, and had many colorful things that didn't suit our normal Faire pirate gear.  Eric finished his hoopak on the road, and we jingled and bounced into the festival with glee!

We met new friends (like Gandersnitch in the pic above, who makes very clever things) and hugged the bejeezus out of the ones we've missed and drank just enough alcohol to keep warm.  Frenchy and the Punk kept us dancing, and wouldn't you know it, the beer being served was Green Man Brewing from Asheville.  We enjoyed the acoustic performance of Hayley Jane, as well. It was a small fair, being so new, but we can't wait for next year, and are making plans to work it for sure!

Anyhoo...between that, making honey, and looking around for a new hollar to settle in 'round these parts, I haven't had much time.  But you know what I do have?  Love.

Thank you for reading, and I'll try to keep y'all posted!

Picture Post: Drum Altar, Equinox 2011

The drum altar is one of my favorite parts of participating in events with my spiritual family. Made up of eclectic, ecstatic, and excited witches, we use this space as a focal point for the community at large weekend events.

The core structure of the drum altar uses the Yoruban Ifá sprits, the Orisha, and their archetypes to build from...but the altar is not limited to that tradition. We have many different paths at these events, and the common languages are love and drum...so there is a Ganesha, a Legolas doll on the Ochossi altar (hunter, archer, tree-dweller), many many different things used to symbolize the energies we are all bringing together to work with.

Along with symbols, the festival participants bring food, candy, fruit, bread, wine, rum, whisky, cigars, candles, and more...the offerings left on the higher tiers are left for the gods, and those on the blanket are for the hungry and thirsty drummers, dancers, and watchers as the night grows darker and the fire grown higher.

Here are some glimpses of the altar during the daytime...imagine it at night, lit by tealights and candles, the mirrors flashing with the firelight, the pounding drums at your back, and the blankets full of happy people feeding each other chocolate, honey, and grapes!

Oshun, Mary, Sweet Mother, the center and heart of the altar.

A larger view of the altar...Oshun, Yemaya, and Eleggua

Ganesha is chilling next to Ochossi, and under Ogun.

Ancestor, trickster, gate and crossroads

A view of the left side, Ogun near the top, Obatala at the top, Chango opposite Ogun.

Scenes from my yard, or Why I Haven't Been Blogging!

Our new yard friends! Photo by Sarah Thomas, Modern Scribe Photography

Our yard friends give us eggs, by Sarah Thomas, Modern Scribe Photography

Lavender, soon to be in bloom, by Sarah Thomas, Modern Scribe Photography

Akasha surveys her domain, by Sarah Thomas, Modern Scribe Photography

Chickens, Eggs, Compost heap, Cats, Gardens, Craft Fairs, Farm Markets, Honey Jars, 

Wildcrafting, Bumble Bees, Midnight Car Accidents on our Road, Entertaining Guests, 

Gem Mining, White Water Rafting...and I know there's more!

This sure is a busy spring! 

I hope to be chatting with y'all later, but for right now, I'm just going along with the tide! 

Much love to you and yours and...

May the Best Manifest!

New Dawn Holistic and Organic Community Fair

On Saturday, June 5th, you will find me at New Dawn Chiropractic Center here in Candler, North Carolina, as a happy participant in their first annual "Holistic and Organic Community Fair"!

The New Dawn Holistic and Organic Community Fair is an event for the whole family. It will even include a bouncy castle and hypoallergenic face painting for the kids!

Everyone else has a chance to participate in the grand raffle for free, where you could win a gift from each of the many participants...from massage therapists to food vendors, nurseries, mineral makeup crafters, to me and my honey, and Sarah and her camera!

New Dawn Chiropractic Center is located at:

90 Acton Circle, Candler, NC  28715

This place is just gorgeous! The office and wellness center are situated on a couple of acres, crowned by a large, open, and spacious 1920's home!  I look forward to setting my booth on the soft grass and watching the old trees make dappled sunlight on everyone's faces.

I hope to see you there from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm!

Visit us at the Asheville Herb Festival!

This weekend, Friday through Sunday at the WNC Asheville Farm Market

Hear ye, hear ye!

Come one, come all to the 21st Annual Asheville Herb Festival! 

I will be there on Saturday and Sunday with Pixie's Pocket honey, situated with Shannon Haun from Candler's House of Herbs.

See more info at http://www.ashevilleherbfestival.com/

"Every spring, more than 25,000 residents and visitors come to the Asheville Herb Festival to find the southeast’s best variety and selection of herbs, herb plants, and herb products ranging from herbal salves, balms, lotions, and ointments to herbal soaps, shampoos, and medicines. You can buy how-to books on cooking with herbs, herbal healing, and herb gardening, and even take a break to enjoy a fresh-cooked lunch and herbal beverage. The 2010 festival takes place Friday, April 30, Saturday, May 1, and Sunday, May 2, 2010. "


WNC Farmer's Market

570 Brevard Road
Asheville, North Carolina

Directions and Details: http://www.ashevilleherbfestival.com/festivalinfo.htm

Think Green Fair 2010

The Pixie's Pocket™ has been invited to help sponsor the  "2010 Think Green Fair!"

The 2010 Think Green Fair will take place from 10am-9pm on June 26th, 2010 at the Olmsted County Fairgrounds, Graham Park in Rochester, Minnesota.

While I can't attend the fair personally, I will be sending the organizers a jar or two of honey to add to their raffle, as well as a stack of coupons (printed on recycled paper, of course!) for a discount at my Etsy shop.


Here's some details on the Fair from their official website:

"The Rochester Think Green Fair is designed to promote a healthier environment in the region by encouraging the local community to make more sustainable choices.

Through this one-day event we will celebrate simple and sustainable practices, products, and food. Examples will be shown on how day-to-day decisions impact our lives, neighborhoods, and world."

I was quite impressed by the promises they get from their food vendors - I've been to "green" festivals before and been given styrofoam and plastic to eat with, much to my dismay. The Rochester Think Green Fair is much more serious about living up to their ideals:

"At this year’s fair, we hope to reduce our footprint by working toward a goal of zero waste. Food and beverages served at the fair are judged by the origin and quality of their ingredients and production methods, as well as the materials in which they are packaged and served."

The person who invited me to sponsor this event was Crystal from "ScrubYourButt" which is an awesome name for a store that sells soap...and I plan on purchasing some of her products, too.

If you are in or around Rochester Minnesota this June, please join this celebration of green living and sustainability!