PODCAST:

The 5th annual Cville Fae Fest is happening at IX Art Park on June 20-21.

Rosemary Cavalier:
You’re listening to WTJU Charlottesville. For Arts This Week, we chatted with Ewa Harr, the executive director of the IX Arts Foundation. She spoke with us about the Fae Festival, an event coming to IX Art Park on June 20th and 21st.

Ewa Harr:
I’ll start with the IX Arts Foundation, which people may also not be familiar with. We’re an arts nonprofit with the goal of bringing people joy through art, and Fae Fest is one of the ways we do that. We’re celebrating our fifth year with the Fae Festival. It is an urban renaissance festival, so you might not have ever seen anything like it, because we’re pretty close to downtown Charlottesville, and we transform IX Art Park into a fantastical medieval village.

Rosemary Cavalier:
What was the inspiration behind creating this sort of event for the community?

Ewa Harr:
Well, the IX Arts Foundation produces four signature events annually. The first one is the Charlottesville Arts Festival, which we just had in May, and then we always really wanted to do some sort of medieval renaissance cosplay type thing, which is where Fae Fest started, and then in August we do Soul of Cville, which celebrates black excellence, and then in the fall, around Halloween, we do Fantasy Fest, which is also kind of a whimsical event, and all of these events support the nonprofit foundation and ways in which we can continue to offer creative and artistic programming at free or low cost to the community.

Rosemary Cavalier:
When is the festival, and what should I expect to see?

Ewa Harr:
So, this year, Fae Fest is on the summer solstice, June 20th and 21st. It is 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock on Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sunday, we have all kinds of activities happening throughout the day. There’s live music all day on the outdoor stage. There’s also performances indoors, including a magic show and a hypnosis show. At 1:30 on Sunday, we have a full production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream happening indoors by The Rustic Mechanicals, that is West Virginia’s premier Shakespeare troupe. We have all kinds of demonstrations and performances, and roving magicians and mermaids and pirates, and all kinds of exciting things.

Rosemary Cavalier:
Is there a certain way that people should plan to dress for the festival?

Ewa Harr:
People can dress any way they want, they can break out their wings, their feathers, their fur, their horns. Really, there is no wrong costume, but we do encourage everyone to dress up.

Rosemary Cavalier:
What do you think makes this festival unique?

Ewa Harr:
Well, I think traditional Renaissance fairs are held, you know, in bigger parks or in the woods, and have room for things like jousting, which I wish we did, and maybe someday we will, but right now, you know, we work with the space that we have, and we have something that’s very unique in the art park and its location in downtown Charlottesville, but we also have the Looking Glass, where if people haven’t been before, that is a whole nother indoor whimsical world, it’s an immersive art museum, so that kind of is something you might not see at a traditional Ren Fair that we have.

Rosemary Cavalier:
What event are you most excited for?

Ewa Harr:
Honestly, I’m excited for all of it. This is one of my favorite events. I do think it’s pretty incredible that we have Midsummer Night’s Dream coming to the Looking Glass, but also there’s just so much talent, so many talented musicians and performers, and you know, I really love how the community comes out for this one. Seeing everybody dressed up and celebrating creativity and community is just really something wonderful.

Rosemary Cavalier:
Where can we go and find more information

Ewa Harr:
If people are looking for more information, including a full list of the artisans and performers, and schedule and times, it’s all available at ixartpark.org/fae-festival so all the information is there, including ticket sales.

Rosemary Cavalier:
Visit the Fae Festival on Saturday, June 20th from 3 to 9pm, and Sunday, June 21st from 10 to 5pm. Arts This Week is supported by the UVA Arts Council and Piedmont Virginia Community College, PVCC Arts presents a rich array of dance, music, theater, and visual arts programming. Learn more at pvcc.edu. For WTJU, I’m Rosemary Cavalier.