KENTVILLE, N.S. —
If you have ever wanted to build a fairy door or start a fairy garden, but weren’t sure where to start, now is your chance.
The Kings County Museum is partnering with a local hobby store to provide a little bit of inspiration and an opportunity to make your fairy garden a reality.
Kate MacInnes Adams said in an interview the museum is inviting members of the public of all ages to go to Freedom Miniatures, at 45 Webster St., Kentville, during the store’s Fairy Door and Garden Days, July 24-27. There, they can create their own version of a fairy garden, which they can choose to take home or they can blend their creation into a fairy garden, which will be on display outside the museum for the rest of the summer.
“It's a family event. In the summertime, people want to be together with their families and have a very magical and fun activity. This is that,” MacInnes Adams said.
“It’s about us all getting together as families and as a community to create something that’s really quite magical for all ages. And, it’s something that’s going to be out there for the public to enjoy all summer long.”
Shelley Acker is the owner of Freedom Miniatures. In an interview, she said the public is welcome to visit the shop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Thursday.
“You can come for as long as you want,” Acker said. “There will be lots of art supplies and sharing of ideas, and assistance if you need it.”
But what does a fairy garden look like?
“They are all going to be different,” Acker said. “But, it’s the kind of thing where you create a habitat that a fairy might like. It might involve a door into a tree or a little house. It might include a brook with a little bridge over it.”
Popsicle sticks, stones, shells, driftwood and greenery from the fairy garden can be used to create a magical space.
She also said participants can place a fairy in the garden if they want. However, it’s more mysterious if you don’t.
“I have a few miniature fairies here. But, often, you don’t see the fairies. They are very secretive, you see. You are very lucky if you get to see a fairy,” she said.
Participants will pay $15 plus tax per person for the fairy garden. Families or groups of three or more will pay $10 per person.
If the public wants to join in the museum’s garden project, there will be an extra $5 charge (no tax). That money will go directly to the museum.
"We want people to be involved in their museum by participating in hands-on activities," Kathrin Grace, the museum’s volunteer facilities manager, said in an interview.
“It’s a way of making the museum theirs.”