Sails and Sagas: What We Built Together

Written by Alison Spokes (Executive Director of 4 Wands Faerie Events) Photos taken by Colin Smith

I've been trying to write this post for days, and every time I sit down, I end up crying happy tears before I get through the first paragraph. So let me just start with the truth: this last weekend, we built something special in Sidney, BC, and I am swelled with gratitude.

A Different Kind of Dragon

I've organized events before. I run the Faerie & Fantasy Faire, which is no small undertaking. But Sails and Sagas was a whole different beast. If the Faire was a dragon, this was the dragon's dragon — bigger, wilder, and one of the most challenging dragons I've had the pleasure of doing battle with. I said yes to it anyway, because I had a vision, and I couldn't shake it.

That vision, for the most part, came to life exactly as I'd dreamed it.

What I Saw When I Looked Around

I wish I could bottle what I witnessed this past weekend and hand it to everyone who couldn't be there. The awe. The laughter. The dancing. People of every age — kids, elders, everyone in between — sharing the same space and finding something they enjoy in it and in each other. A real village, built for a weekend out of nothing but intention and effort.

I watched insecurities heal in real time. People who didn't think they could, did. People who didn't think they'd be accepted were. You could see the confidence in the playful energy that consumed everyone who walked through the gates.

This is exactly why I started this company in the first place. I wanted to build something fun for my community, because I suspected other people were craving the same thing I was craving — a place to play and connect. What I didn't expect was how many incredible people I'd meet doing it, or how quickly they'd become fae-mily.

The Fae-mily

With three events under my belt, there's a crew of recurring characters now — people who show up event after event and have become a part of what everyone looks forward to. The vendors, the entertainers, the photographers, the volunteers, and the attendees. And there's a core team behind the scenes who make it all possible, often at real personal cost.

I think about what it costs these people to give me their weekends. Midlife doesn't slow down for a festival — there are young kids to raise, grown kids heading off to college, aging parents to care for, jobs to keep up with, and financial pressures that don't pause just because there's a festival to run. And yet this team sets all of that aside and works fifteen-hour days on their days off to help me pull this thing together. I feel the weight of that. I'm deeply, deeply grateful for it.

The Market Circuit Family

Another thing that moves me is watching our vendors support each other and join forces to cross-promote one another. They volunteer extra time to spread the word about events and other creators they believe in. I have vendors who will always have reserved tables at my events, not only because their craftsmanship is genuinely excellent, but because they show up for the community with generosity and genuine enthusiasm. They're fae-mily too.

The same goes for our performers, volunteers, and photographers. Time and again, they go beyond what their contracts require, because they love this thing as much as I do. We try to take care of our people, because they take care of us. Honestly, I think that's the whole formula for what our society is missing right now: reciprocity, play, laughter, creativity, generosity, and kindness.

Reading the Notes

I've spent the last few days reading through every note from attendees, vendors, and performers, and it keeps bringing me to tears — the good kind. Over and over, people are saying the same thing: I can't wait for next year.

Me too. I can't wait for next year.

This was the best event I've ever produced.

And it turns out — it was also the most expensive gathering I've ever thrown. That part of the story is a little more complicated, and I want to talk about it honestly, so I'm giving it its own post. But for now, I just wanted to sit in this feeling with you: we built a village for a weekend, and it was beautiful.

Thank you for being part of it. 💛