Magical. It was simply magical. I have been told that I say this every single year, but honestly sweartogodandhopetodie, this was the best fair ever. Absolutely ever. In all of my seventeen years, this was the one that put the cherry on top of the big hot fudge sundae. Or maybe it was the one that put the organic chocolate chips in the vegan Clyde's cookies. It was just full of sweetness and goodness and everything grand.
Some people cry at weddings. I most definitely cry at the fair. It never fails that the moment I walk through the Dragon Entrance and hear the music wafting from the Blue Moon Stage and see all my fine fairy folk swarming about on the paths, I burst into tears. I get overwhelmed with happiness. I just know that I have finally come home.
There were magical and special moments at every turn at this fair. I saw old friends. I made new friends. I sat naked (yes naked) at the Ritz with Andrew Weil and discussed herbs and organics and Dreamsweet and the state of health of our country. It was such an amazing moment for me and he was really encouraging about the teas and the work that I’m doing.
DearSweetDave and I met Maid Marian. This beautiful goddess of a woman who is involved in Burning Man. She was such a delightful soul and we felt such a heart connection with her. We talked all about blogging, of all things. And community. And how the fair compared to Burning Man (as DearSweetDave and I have never even been!).
We were able to stay in the fair after closing on Friday night and attend a talk by three wonderful and inspiring counter-culture revolutionaries. One of them was Stephen Gaskin. DearSweetDave had never heard him speak before and was really taken (and Stephen was taken with him). Afterwards, they chatted and I got to gush to Stephen all about his wife, Ina May, and how her book had been the catalyst for my becoming a doula. He was just completely lovely.
We saw our old friends Martin and Erin and their adorable kids who have moved from Santa Cruz to Eugene. It was all quite by accident, but so perfect. And we connected with our dear friend, Rob, whom we see at the fair every single year and never seem to see anytime else even though he lives in San Francisco.
I bought DearSweetDave a Utilikilt as an anniversary present and we both had a blast getting fitted. Those boys in the Utilikilt booth are to be commended for encouraging me to get naked, all the way naked! We hooked up with both of his sisters and our nephew Jadon off and on and spent time dancing to the music of old favorites and also checking out new bands, as well. We took a nap in John’s tent on Saturday so we could avoid the sweep and then spent Saturday night checking out the various magical light shows and parts of the annual midnight show.
I wandered the paths in glitter boots and my fairy wings that took the fair by storm (I had one fair goer tell me that she was going to jump me for my costume) and was even recognized as Nakedjen by a first time fair goer who had been told by my dear neighbor Kath to look for me. She found me even though I was wearing clothes.
Perhaps my most magical moment came as I was wandering alone past one of the children’s play areas. Suddenly this radiant child dressed head to toe in purple velvet came swooping towards me and grabbed onto my very full fairy skirt. She beamed up at me with her large brown eyes and gasped, “You’re the very fairy I dreamed of!” I quickly asked her what her wish was, but she told me I had already made it come true. Seeing me, in the flesh, had proved to her that fairies were real. It took everything I had not to burst into tears. Children know. Don’t ever doubt them when it comes to the authenticity of fairies.
It was the first fair where I chose not to bare my breasts and go naked among the masses. Imagine that?! I actually felt kind of like a poser on Sunday as I opted to just wear jeans and a t-shirt (the horrors), but DearSweetDave insisted that I was still going to get noticed and I did get loads of compliments on my pink fuzzy hat. Go figure.
And the food. My goodness the food. Perhaps my ONLY disappointment in the entire weekend was that the Tofu Palace, for whatever reason, decided to close up shop early on Sunday. I had planned to eat my dinner there on Sunday night, but was sorely disappointed when I found that it was closed and the Tofu Tia was going to just have to be something of my dreams. I consoled myself with Rising Moon Ravioli that absolutely NEVER disappoints and the closed Tofu Palace actually gave us another opportunity to share hugs and love with Maid Marian, so it was, as brother NakedIan would say, “All Good”.
Honestly, it’s hard to convey in words just how special and “all good” the entire fair experience was. I keep telling everyone that they really need to come to the fair to understand. It’s just something that you have to experience for yourself. I always tell folks that it’s my religion. And quite frankly, this year was more like a religious experience than any other. I was just in such ecstasy the entire time. A big perma grin on my face. Floating along, lighter than air. My heart opened up wide. Really, really, really wide. 
