Keeping Sails and Sagas Alive: We Need Your Help
Written by Alison Spokes (Executive Director of 4 Wands Faerie Events) September 24, 2026
It's been nearly a month since Sails & Sagas. I've had some time to digest and process all the extreme highs and lows of that weekend. If you read my last post, you know how much joy came out of Sails & Sagas at the end of August. This post, however, is the harder one to write, but it matters just as much — because without being honest about it, the event might not get a second chance.
The Numbers Didn't Match the Dream
The reality was that we attracted only half the attendance we were expecting. For a first-year festival of this scale, that's a real financial hit — and it's landed hard. The event that gave me some of the proudest, most joyful moments of my career turned out to also be the most expensive gathering I've ever thrown.
Don't get me wrong — it was a blast! But with the turnout we had, just over 1,500 tickets sold, we came out with a $30k loss. We brought in $55k in revenue and still came out massively in the red. We managed to pay all of our performers and contractors in full, but my team and I — the team who worked hard for months and showed up for multiple fifteen-hour days on the weekend of the festival — never saw a single paycheck. These events have been a labor of love for us, but we cannot risk a second loss of this magnitude. It's just not sustainable.
A Roller Coaster of Emotions
At the end of Sails & Sagas, I felt exhilarated and exhausted. Proud yet defeated. Inspired and, honestly, a little scared — because the thing I poured everything into could end up being not just the first Sails & Sagas, but the last one. I've cried real tears over this. Yet everyone who came seems to be asking the same thing I am: is there a next year?
I believe there can be. But I can't make that happen alone, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
Why We're Asking, Not Just Adjusting
I know the obvious question is: why not just raise ticket prices, or cut costs?
Right now, ticket sales and vendor fees are our primary sources of revenue, and honestly, we're already pushing the edge of what we feel is fair to ask people to pay. Our events are meant to be a place where the whole community — including families and folks on tight budgets — can come play. Pricing more people out isn't a solution we're willing to reach for.
We've also gone through our expenses line by line. Roughly half of what we spent went directly into the entertainment, programming, and activities on site — the things that make Sails & Sagas Sails & Sagas. The other half covered the safety and logistics required to run an event of this size: security, advertising, insurance, rentals, first aid, and more. None of it is padding.
It's also worth saying: many of our entertainers and guests volunteered their time. They didn't ask to be paid — only that their travel expenses be covered so they weren't out of pocket for showing up. That's how lean this event already runs. If we combed through every line, we might find a couple thousand dollars to trim — but that's not enough to close a $30k gap. It wouldn't make this event viable on its own.
What actually makes Sails & Sagas sustainable is more people in the gates and more sponsorship revenue. That's the real fix — and it's the honest reason we're asking for help.
This Is Bigger Than Us
Our community has seen this story before. This year alone, we lost Rifflandia, ArtisTREE and the Buccaneer Days Parade. We nearly lost FernFest too, if it wasn't for the community who rallied to keep it alive for at least one more year. These aren't small, poorly-run events — they're festivals that people loved, run by teams who cared, and they still couldn't outrun the same problem: a lack of funding and a team running on burnout year after year.
We don't want to be the next name on that list. But that's the reality of community festivals — they're a ton of work and a ton of money, and they don't survive on good intentions alone. If communities want to keep them alive, the community has to be part of keeping them alive. That's not a guilt trip; it's just how these things actually work. It's also why we reach out for feedback, so we can balance creating the event the community actually wants with the realities of what is actually possible.
Here's How You Can Help
If you want to see Sails & Sagas return in 2027... If you believe this is something worth growing — here's what would actually make a difference:
Spread the word. Tell people what you saw and felt at Sails & Sagas Festival. Word of mouth is how events like this grow, and it costs nothing but a share or a conversation.
Donate, if you're able, through PayPal or Ko-Fi. Every donation, whatever the size, helps us keep events like ours in the community. We also give back, whenever possible, by supporting local NGOs doing good work in our community.
Tell us if crowdfunding would get your support. We're considering a crowdfunding campaign for next year's event to help offset costs — I'd love to know if that's something you and your circle would back.
Connect us with sponsors. If you're part of a business — or know someone who is — that might want to support an event like this, we want to talk. Sponsorship is one of the biggest ways we can bring costs down without shrinking the vision. We can work with any budget to create a partnership that's mutually beneficial.
Know a venue? If you have access to or can recommend a property that could host us and help cut our site costs, please reach out. As much as we've loved working with Sidney, the right property partnership could change everything for our budget.
Volunteer your skills. Volunteer! Volunteer! Volunteer! Even if it's just a couple of hours. If you're interested in becoming more seriously involved, we're actively looking for people to join the team in social media, stage management, and sponsorship or grant writing. If that's you, or someone you know, we want to hear from you.
Our Mission
Simply put: keep Sails and Sagas alive.
We already have the important pieces in place — the connections, the experience, the team who showed up because they believe in this too. What we need now is more support to carry it into next year.
We'll do the work. We always do. But we can't do it without a community standing behind us.
If any of this is you — reach out and tell us how you can help. Email alison@faerieevents.ca Let's build this together, bigger and better than ever.
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