International Fairy Day and Fairy Tale Weekend at Cheaha State Park

International Fairy Day and Fairy Tale Weekend at Cheaha State Park
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.
Date: June 24-26, 2022
Location: Parkwide Fun (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.
Cost: FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission
Fairy Tale Weekend at Cheaha State Park
June 24-26, 2022
Welcome lovers of nature and fairy friends! 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. 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.
Nature Nook
Meet the Park Naturalist! Ask questions! Learn more about Cheaha State Park! Meet a live animal!
Date: Friday, June 24, 2022
Time: 3:30 PM-5:30 PM
Location: Mountain Store Patio
Cost: FREE
Fairy Tale Campfire Talk: Tairy Fales and Funny Fairy Stories
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: Friday, June 24, 2022
Time: 8:00 pm-9:00 pm
Location: Lower Improved Campground
Cost: FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission
Fairyfest Saturday at Cheaha State Park
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: Building Fairy Houses in the Forest
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.
Date: Saturday, June 25, 2022
Time: 10:30 am-12:00 pm
Location: Interpretive Center (Cheaha Lake)
Cost: FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission
Arts in the Environment: Making a Fairy Wand from Natural Materials
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: Saturday, June 25, 2022
Time: 12:00 pm-1:00 pm
Location: Interpretive Center (Cheaha Lake)
Cost: FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission
Magical Moments: Mermaid Photo Op
Not all enchanted creatures are pint-sized pixies. Meet a siren of the sea, a close cousin to fairies, at Cheaha Lake. Shell-abrate this magical moment of meeting a real mermaid! Bring a camera and your wee mermaids and mermen for a fin-tastic photo op.
Date: Saturday, June 25, 2022
Time: 1:00 pm-2:00 pm
Location: Cheaha Lake
Cost: FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission
Un-Natural Trail Hike: Let’s See the Forest Like the Fairies See It
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: Saturday, June 25, 2022
Time: 2:00 pm-3:00 pm
Location: Interpretive Center (Cheaha Lake)
Cost: FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission
Fairy Tale Campfire Talk: Finding Fairies and Friends!
Listen to terrific tales of fairies, hear the crackling fire, and create tasty fairy-sized s’mores! Cheaha’s interpretive team will lead you on a fun-filled journey, enhancing the natural world with fairies and connecting children of all ages to diverse habitats and creatures, while inspiring a sense of place, a land conservation ethic, and a comfortable fearlessness for outdoor exploration!
Date: Saturday, June 25, 2022
Time: 8:00 pm-9:00 pm
Location: Al Alexander Activities Building
Cost: FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission
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: Sunday, June 26, 2022
Time: 10:00 am-11:30 am
Location: Interpretive Center (Cheaha Lake)
Cost: FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission
Learning by the Lake
Do you have a child who is curious about the great outdoors? The interpretive team will help them connect with the natural world through art, activities, storytelling, games, and so much more. Stop by and make some new connections.
Date: Sunday, June 26, 2022
Time: 12:00 noon-4:00 pm
Location: Interpretive Center (Cheaha Lake)
Cost: FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission
Ongoing Activities (June 24, 2022- June 26, 2022)
-Leave Only Fairy Footprints
Location: Enchanted Garden
Build a fairy house out of natural materials. You might just catch a glimpse of a fairy darting into your new home!
- Photo Scavenger Hunt
Sharpen your hide and seek skills by finding all the hidden locations. Pick up a scavenger hunt sheet from the Mountain Store.
-Hike to the Highest Point in Alabama: Bigfoot Trail (1 mile)
Count how many hidden Bigfoots you see along the way.
-Self-guided Hikes
Bald Rock Boardwalk (0.66 miles)
Heritage Trail (0.44 miles)
Mountain Laurel Trail (1.4miles)
-Legacy Story Trails
Cheaha Legacy Story Trails offer guests a unique way to enjoy nature, cultural heritage, and environmental arts. Follow the interpretive panels on the Tim Haney Sensory Trail (LNT Bigfoot Trail), Shinrin-yoku Trail (Mountain Laurel Trail), and the Time Traveler Adventure Quest (begins at the Mountain Store). Stop by the Mountain Store to pick up a trail map.
-Play on the Imagination Tree Playground
Location: Tower Road
-Gem Mine
Various buckets of gemstones available at Mountain Store
All programming is FREE for overnight guests or with Park Admission.
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.