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Fairy House Surprise coming back to Qualicum Beach

Little fairy houses will be popping up at Milner Gardens & Woodland
9629parksvilleMilnerfairy1-file-june23
Milner Gardens & Woodland executive director Geoff Ball said he has a feeling the fairies will be returing to Milner Gardens & Woodland on June 23.

Do you believe in fairies?

A little birdie — or rather a fairy — has told The NEWS that the annual Fairy House Surprise will be coming up soon, most likely starting this Thursday.

Milner Gardens & Woodland executive director Geoff Ball said the gardens staff have a good sense of when the fairies will appear which is usually around the summer solstice.

Because of this, Ball said they are able to prepare a fairy tea time which is served in the Queen’s Room and Milner House patio. Unfortunately, because of the fairy tea time, there is no full afternoon high tea or reservations when the fairies are in the garden.

Ball said Veronica Milner, the former owner of the grounds, believed in fairies and she believed the fairies lived in the garden which added to the magic and special feeling of the place.

“(Veronica) said when she was alive, she saw the little people in Ireland. She believed that they were one of the reasons why the gardens were so magical,” Ball said, adding that the Fairy House Surprise is keeping with her belief.

Ball said there aren’t any maps to find the fairies, but the fairy houses can be found in the woodland part of the garden in all sorts of neat spots.

“But as fast as they appear, they suddenly disappear,” he said.

International Fairy Day is June 24 this year, and the Fairy House Surprise will run from June 23 to 26 at Milner Gardens &Woodland (2179 Island Hwy. West, Qualicum Beach).

Admission is $11 for adults, $6.50 for youths, and children 12 and under accompanied by an adult get in for free. Milner Gardens members and current VIU students with their student card enter for free as well.

The gardens are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with last entry at 4 p.m.

The fairy tea time is from 1 to 4 p.m. with tea and fairy cupcake $8.50 per person.

For more information, visit www2.viu.ca/MilnerGardens



Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's national team, after my journalism career took me across B.C. since I was 19 years old.
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