Cheaha State Park

International Fairy Day and Fairy Tale Weekend at Cheaha State Park

Fairy Day at Cheaha State Park June 24, 2021

Where the bee sucks, there suck I; In a cowslip’s bell I lie; There I couch when owls do cry. On the bat’s back I do fly. After summer merrily. Merrily, merrily shall I live now, under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

-William Shakespeare

Fairy Day is a worldwide day for fairies, magic, nature play, and wishes to come true. For one day, put aside the constraints of the modern world and embrace the possibilities of the unknown…and believe in fairies. Hike the woodland trails, wade in mountain streams, picnic on top of huge boulders, and play! Cheaha State Park’s Enchanted Garden is a special place where your children and you can immerse yourselves in creating fairy houses or gnome homes out of natural materials. Cheaha’s Imagination Tree Playground is filled with wonder and opportunity for unstructured play. Purchase a gem mining kit from the Mountain Store, mine your gems, and use them in the construction of your fairy houses. There are many cozy nooks in the park for picnics and storytelling moments. Purchase a Hairy, Scary but Mostly Merry: Fairies! story and activity book from the park store (100% proceeds go to the park) and discover unique ways to enjoy nature with your children. The Mountain Store will be selling special “fairy fun kits” and more! Bring your little fairies and elves to Vista Cliffside Restaurant for a child’s Fairy Meal with a special enchanted dessert (served to go for picnics or dine on the cliffside deck). Location: Self-guided fun park wide (Park admission $5 per adult; $2 per child); extend your stay to include Fairy Tale Weekend and plan a campout. Sleep under a canopy of trees, watch for evening fairies to ride across the sky on little brown bats, and listen for starlight fairy lullabies. Primitive Campers receive 25% off their stay (June 24-27, 2021). Call 256-488-0030 for camping reservations.

Fairy Tale Weekend at Cheaha State Park

June 25-27, 2021

Welcome lovers of nature and the wee folk! Enjoy a magical weekend filled with storytelling, sparkling bubbles, whimsical fairies, fairy house building, and fun in the forest. Put on your wings, see nature as you’ve never seen it before, let your imagination run wild, and join us for this enchanted adventure. As our Park Superintendent (and fairy friend) Renee Raney says, “Nature joyously waits for you. She wants to feel your bare feet on grass and talk to you through the buzzing bees and peeping frogs. She hopes to watch you catch (and release) a firefly, to laugh with you as you splash in a mud puddle, to blow wind through your hair, and herald you with birdsong. Through wonder and imagination, you can discover that every moment in nature is a Once Upon A Time moment.” The Mountain Store will be selling special “fairy fun kits” and more! Bring your little fairies and elves to Vista Cliffside Restaurant for a child’s Fairy Meal with a special enchanted dessert (served to go for picnics or dine on the cliffside deck). Plan a campout: sleep under a canopy of trees, watch for evening fairies to ride across the sky on little brown bats, and listen for starlight fairy lullabies. Primitive Campers receive 25% off their stay (June 24-27, 2021).

Fairy Tale Campfire Talk: Tairy Fales and Funny Fairy Stories

If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.

-Albert Einstein

Sit by a campfire, watch for firefly fairies, and listen to hilarious stories about lesser known fairy tale characters, such as Rindercella and the Big (NOT So Bad) Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. Einstein would approve of these fantastic stories: after this program, your children will be brilliant!

Date: June 25, 2021

Time: 8:00 PM-9:00PM

Location: Lower Improved Campground; Park day guest admission $5 per adult; $2 per child

Fairyfest Saturday at Cheaha State Park

And as the seasons come and go, here’s something you might like to know. There are fairies everywhere: under bushes, in the air, playing games just like you play, singing through their busy day. So listen, touch, and look around…in the air and on the ground. And if you watch all nature’s things, you might just see a fairy’s wing!

-William Collins

Enjoy a day of creative play that immerses your children in the natural world while inspiring them to use their imagination.

Arts in the Environment: Making a Fairy Wand from Natural Materials

There is nothing scientifically impossible, so far as I can see, in some people seeing things that are invisible to others.

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Humans have an innate enchantment and love for nature deep in our souls. If we create art from natural items, we connect to the natural world in deeper ways. Utilizing found objects and turning them into fairy wands is an incredibly unique way to link children to nature, arts, creative plan, and to make wonderful magical memories.

Date: June 26, 2021

Time: 10:00 AM-11:00 AM

Location: Interpretive Center at Lake Cheaha; Park day guest admission $5 per adult; $2 per child

Story Time: Hairy, Scary but Mostly Merry: Fairies! with author (and Park Superintendent) Renee Simmons Raney

Renee takes you on an enchanting journey into realm of imagination. Her fairies lead children away from the sterile electronic world that has robbed so many children of the creative joy of childhood. Children have not changed, if you introduce the world of fairies and dreams to them, they love it just as much as the generations who came before. This book gives us the tools we need to travel back into time when magic could teach us so much about reality.

-Verna Gates, Founder and Executive Director of Fresh Air Family

Join Award winning author, storyteller, environmental educator, and park superintendent, Renee Raney, as she whisks you away to a secret world of wonder and endless possibilities. Purchase a Hairy, Scary but Mostly Merry: Fairies! book from the park store (100% proceeds go to Cheaha State Park) and discover unique ways to enjoy nature with your children. Renee will be signing books after story time.

Date: June 26, 2021

Time: 11:00 AM-11:30 AM

Location: Interpretive Center at Lake Cheaha; Park day guest admission $5 per adult; $2 per child

Un-Natural Trail Hike: Let’s See the Forest Like the Fairies See It

If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.

-Rachel Carson

Wonder, enchantment, and adventure await around every corner for those bold enough to seek it. Forest fairies are more playful than a child, braver than a lion, quieter than a mouse, and more joyful than a drop of sunshine. Fairies see EVERYTHING! Learn how to see the world through the charmed eyes of a fairy during this very easy nature observations hike.

Date: June 26, 2021

Time: 11:30 AM-12:30 PM

Location: Interpretive Center at Lake Cheaha; Park day guest admission $5 per adult; $2 per child

Arts in the Environment: Building Fairy Houses in the Forest

Every moment spent in nature is a Once Upon a Time moment. Anyone can build a fairy house. The main tool needed is imagination. Pretend you are only about three inches tall (or the size of your pointy finger). Where would you want to live? The second tool is observation. The only rule is to use only natural found materials. Build it with love and the fairies will find it. -Renee S. Raney, Park Superintendent (and author of Hairy, Scary but Mostly Merry: Fairies! Curing Nature Deficiency through Folklore, Imagination, and Creative Activities)

This creative outdoor activity gives your child a better understanding of natural history and the connections between all living things. As you bend down close to the earth, you will see and hear things that you never noticed before. Whether you are 3 or 103, building a fairy house will delight your inner pixie.

Date: June 26, 2021

Time: 2:00 PM-3:30 PM

Location: Interpretive Center at Lake Cheaha; Park day guest admission $5 per adult; $2 per child

Fairy Tale Campfire Talk: Hairy, Scary but Mostly Merry: Fairies!

Creatures love to hear stories and songs. When I build fairy houses or sit in an enchanted garden, I tell stories very quietly. The creatures of the forests and gardens take the stories back to the fairy children and repeat them. Just as we tell fairy tales to our human children, fairies tell human tales to their fairy children.

-Renee S. Raney, Park Superintendent (and author of Hairy, Scary but Mostly Merry: Fairies! Curing Nature Deficiency through Folklore, Imagination, and Creative Activities)

Enjoy a Peter Pan style storytelling where author (and Park Superintendent) Renee Simmons Raney weaves “true” fairy stories, enhancing the natural world with supernatural creatures (such as fairies, dryads, and pookas), and connects children of all ages to diverse habitats, creatures, seasons, and holidays while inspiring a sense of place, a land conservation ethic, and a comfortable fearlessness for outdoor exploration. She will be signing her book, Hairy, Scary but Mostly Merry: Fairies! Curing Nature Deficiency through Folklore, Imagination, and Creative Activities, that you can purchase from the Cheaha Mountain Store (100% proceeds benefit the park).

Date: June 26, 2021

Time: 8:00 PM-9:00 PM

Location: Upper Improved Campground; Park day guest admission $5 per adult; $2 per child

Sunday Fairy Fun: Make & Take: Building Fairy House Furniture

Now that you know how to create a beautiful fairy home, expand your fairy knowledge to furnish it. Learn how to create your own fairy furniture from natural materials to take home for secret fairy gardens. Build a table, a chair, and a tiny fairy photo frame from natural materials. Limited space. Children must be assisted by an adult (using hot glue guns). Registration is REQUIRED for this crafting activity due to limited supplies. Call 256- 412-9938 or email Mandy.Pearson@dcnr.alabama.gov to reserve a space in the class.

Date: June 27, 2021

Time: 10:00 AM-11:30 AM

Location: Interpretive Center at Lake Cheaha; Park day guest admission $5 per adult; $2 per child

For more information about International Fairy Day or Fairy Tale Weekend, email Mandy.Pearson@dcnr.alabama.gov or call 256 412-9938. The programs are free with gate admission and to overnight guests. We are committed to providing programs that are educational, fun, and safe. Family units will be spaced out from other family units. We will provide hand sanitizer stations.