A little magic dust transforms Key Peninsula fairy camp into real fun

Nothing like a little magic dust to transform a walk in the park into a fairy tale wonderland of wings and wands.

A handful of giggly girls made their way down a leafy path early Wednesday to the base of a large cedar that doubled as the fairy house on a Key Peninsula park. Twigs, leaves, moss and feathers were stacked neatly against the hearty bark, the forest’s mottled shadows lending the march a mysterious hue.

“We are here at the fairy house to give (fairies) gifts from nature,” said Jacqueline Brulotte — ringleader, fairy queen and professional face painter. “Beautiful soft and green moss, sparkly rocks and flowers, everything that fairies love.”

The three-day Woodland Fairy Camp is for children ages 3-12 and is in its second year on the Key Peninsula. It is held at Volunteer Park, a Key Pen Parks property five miles south of Key Center and 45 minutes from Tacoma. The next camp is Aug. 1-3.

“We’re basically having fun incorporating traditional fairy tales as well as having good kid fun,” Brulotte said. “Appreciating nature and art, the stories, and play with our imagination.”

So what exactly is a fairy?

“It’s a person that is between a butterfly and a small person,” said 5-year-old Eleanor Kuhn-Wilken.

Devynn Wallace, 7, offers her definition: “A fairy is a person who has wings on their back and they fly around and they don’t even need to walk on the ground.”

But no matter what your definition of a fairy is, Brulotte said, it “could just be your inner playful child that can connect with nature and laughter.”

In the end, Brulotte declares, “We are all going to be rulers of kindness and love.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 6:26 PM with the headline "A little magic dust transforms Key Peninsula fairy camp into real fun."