Hundreds of Duneland residents and tourists attended the “Woodland Wee Folk Festival” on Saturday, July 12 in Thomas Centennial Park. A partnership by the Westchester Public Library and Chesterton’s European Market, the event served as the capstone to the library’s summer reading program, which this year focused on an “Into the Woods” theme.
From 10am to 2pm, children and their families were treated to a transformed Thomas Centennial Park, filled with whimsical children’s activities. A fairy café offered “troll tea,” a professional fruit carver sculpted gnomes and mushrooms out of fresh fruit, and Chesterton Feed and Garden Center hosted a fairy home and garden tour.
“This event was such a tremendous experience for our community’s children,” says Allyson Baughman, Manager of Chesterton’s European Market. “It was amazing to see so much energy and enthusiasm throughout the day. Everywhere I turned, there were little girls in fairy wings fluttering through the Market and Thomas Centennial Park. The look of wonder on these children’s faces when they saw the castle bounce house, gnome obstacle course, or fairy makeover booth was indescribable. Merribeth Paunicka at Westchester Public Library did a masterful job of structuring the event and infusing it with the perfect mix of physical activity and creative exploration.”
For more information about the upcoming library or Market events, please call Merribeth Paunicka in the Children’s Department at Westchester Public Library at (219) 926-7696, ext. 15, or the Chesterton/Duneland Chamber of Commerce at (219) 926-5513.
Photo: Ceramic artist Rita Jackson provides free fairy sculpting classes during the library’s Woodland Wee Folk Festival. Pictured [left-right]: Evelina Kaciulis (age 5 ½), Beverly Shores; Dustin Reeves (age 8), New Albany; Angela Reeves, New Albany; Karissa Reeves (age 6), New Albany; Lauren Pilarski (age 5), Chesterton; Cindy Deadman, Chesterton; Summer Bokodi (age 7), Chesterton; Tegan Werner (age 4), Chesterton.