The Midsummer Faerie Rade 2016

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Sun 17 Jan 2016

Faerie:
noun. archaic Origin; French, 1580-90;

1. A tiny, mischievous, imaginary being; a fairy.
2. Enchantment; the land or realm of the fairies.
3. A variant of 'fairy'.
(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition, 2011)


According to European folklore, the faerie world is a strange and mysterious one rarely glimpsed by humans. It is rumoured that those who've mastered the flute or are blessed with beautiful singing voices, can attract faeries to them.

As the lore goes lone travellers would sometimes stumble upon strange faerie happenings such as a solemn funeral parade, war rade or even a circle of crazed dancing by following the eerie sounds of faerie music off the beaten path.

When humans join in faerie dances some are never seen again. Those who make it back to the real world are often convinced they've only been gone a short time, when in reality they disappeared decades ago...


Today faerie gatherings and celebrations are practiced by true believers and the curious around the world and this Sunday so can you.

The annual Midsummer Faerie Rade begins at 1:30pm in the Treasury Gardens with 'The Gathering' to plan for the procession. While waiting faeries can mingle, purchase raffle tickets, get their picture taken by the event photographer and enjoy some face painting. Any bags can be left with the designated bag-minder - so you have your hands free during the procession.


After the gathering, it's time for the Rade! At 2:00pm starting with a group photo of all guests on the steps of Parliament, the fun faerie procession will take raders for an easy-paced, 45-minute walk through the city's streets with the faerie queen and king leading the march, jingling bells to the music and trailing bubbles through the air.


At around 3:00 the Rade the group will collect their bags from the minder and move on to the Fitzroy Gardens for the Picnic of the Fae Folk, where the raffle is drawn and for snacks, goblets and treats until the event ends at 5:30.

If you're planning to join in all the revelry of the event; here's what you'll need to bring:


#cbd
#child_friendly
#family_attractions
#free
#fun_things_to_do
#inner_east
#city
#outdoor
#parks
#unusual_events
#january
!date 17/01/2016 -- 17/01/2016
%wnmelbourne