North Texas Daily

Sunshine and people clad in elf ears, fairy wings and whimsical outfits filled the patio of Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio Sunday afternoon. Flow dancers performed with hula hoops as children blew bubbles and drew pictures with sidewalk chalk. People of all ages were brought together by a common interest: fairy folk culture.

The Fae Folk Market festival was put on by the Denton Art and Performance Collaborative as a way to celebrate spring and raise money for Coyote Music Studio’s low-income family fund, which provides musical instruments and lessons to students at the studio.

Fae Folk Market patrons play with bubbles at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio on April
16, 2023. Makayla Brown

Patrons dance to live music. Makayla Brown

Attendees of the second
annual Fae Folk Market,
presented by DAPC, create chalk
art at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal
Studio on April 16, 2023.
Makayla BrownPhoto by Makayla Brown

“We bring the Denton community together through art and music and performance,” said Ali Puckett, Denton resident and founder of the DAPC. “We came together as vendors and musicians with a plan to basically provide at least one big market or event each month that would be beneficial to us as vendors and musicians, but also a space for everyone to feel welcome.”

The DAPC puts on many different market and festival events throughout the year that support local creators and charities. Some other events put on by the DAPC include the Folk Festival, Denton’s Make Music Day and the Brews and Blues Market. The first Fae Folk Market festival was held in March 2022.

“Last year, we held it closer to St. Patrick’s Day, but we didn’t want to do a St. Patty’s market because it’s often associated with a lot of drinking, and we wanted our event to be more family-friendly,” Puckett said.

This time around, the festival featured a petting zoo, more vendors, flow dancers and warmer weather.

Another new addition to the 2023 festival was an interactive fairy hunt designed to encourage people to visit the vendors on the deck area of the patio, which Puckett said saw more traffic this year. Festivalgoers were instructed to hunt for the fairies and post a selfie with one on their social media story to win free cotton candy or a fairy wand.

Fae Folk Market attendees view glass art displayed by vendor Terra Luna. Madeleine
Moore

Fae Folk Market patrons watch the live music set at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio on April 16, 2023.
Photo by Makayla Brown

A little girl is distracted from
blowing her bubbles by the Celtic
music being performed on stage.
Madeleine Moore

Alex Clifton, Loafing Around Confections owner and DAPC member, was one of the hosts who helped organize the Fae Folk Market. Clifton said she loves baking and is a big fan of fairies and fairy culture, so she combined the two interests to create her business. Loafing Around Confections specializes in macaron treats and other desserts that could typically be found at a tea party.

When the DAPC was searching for a theme for their family-friendly spring festival last year, Clifton said she suggested the fae folk theme, and it was a hit.

“We’ve got several more vendors, had a better time working on decorations and had more time to advertise [the second] time around for sure,” Clifton said. “Just in general, it was a lot smaller last year, but we’ve had time to grow.”

A flow dancer performs at
the Fae Folk Market. Madeleine
Moore

People of all ages came to the festival — babies, grandparents and everyone in between. University psychology sophomore Paige Heyl attended the festival to hang out with her friends, visit all of the vendors and see her coworker and friend Timothy Stevens perform.

“This is a really cool event with a lot of different people and vendors, and I like how whimsical it is,” Heyl said. “I think it fits the Denton vibe.”

Stevens, Denton resident and Irish music performer, started playing the mandolin, an eight-string, guitar-like instrument, three years ago. This year marked his second time performing at the Fae Folk Market festival. 

“There [are] a lot more people, but [the festival] is very similar to how it was last year,” Stevens said. “Cool vendors, great space — except for when the train goes by. That didn’t happen to me this time, but it happened to me last year.”

A small business, Sunspell Dice, makes custom dice and displays them on their table for Fae Folk Market at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio on April 16, 2023.
Photo by Makayla Brown

Currently, Stevens only performs at a few events a year, but said he hopes to perform at more DAPC events, including another Fae Folk Market, in the future.

“I’m pretty sure everyone’s local [at the festival], and it’s kid-friendly, which is great,” Stevens said. “I have a 3-year-old, so for him to be able to come here and not have a bar atmosphere with a bunch of drunk people wandering around and smoking cigarettes is ideal. I’ve had a lot of fun here.”

Puckett said an estimated 200 people attended the event. The festival will donate $250 of the event’s proceeds to the Coyote Music Studio’s fund. The rest of the money raised at the market will be used to fund future DAPC events.

Featured Image The owners of small business Terra Luna stand at their table for Fae Folk Market at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio on April 16, 2023. Makayla Brown