Fairy Princess Lolly, the director of the Fairyblossom Festival, points contestants in the costume contest toward the stage in 2015.
A giant walks through the first Fairy Blossom Festival located outside of the Yard Birds Mall in 2015.
Fairies, princes, princesses, mythical creatures, pirates and cosplayers of all varieties are invited to descend on Yard Birds this weekend for the second annual Fairyblossom Festival.
Ammie Hague, of Fantasy Arts and Entertainment, which organizes the festival, said it is a fantasy festival, and is inclusive of all elements of fantasy, including science fiction.
“Everyone can come out and have good time,” she said. “Everybody can been included. That’s the whole idea of fantasy — to get as much of an array as you can.”
About 300 people attended the festival in its first year last summer, Hague said.
The second-annual Fairyblossom Festival is scheduled for this weekend at the field in front of Yard Birds, located at 2100 National Ave. in Chehalis.
The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is $7 for adults and $3 for children. Children 5 years old and under get in free. An overnight camping spot costs $15.
Participants can save a dollar on admission by bringing donations for a food drive.
For the second year, winners of the Fairyblossom Festival costume contest will get to go to the Experience Music Project in Seattle for its Myth & Magic Faire: Masquerade Ball on June 9 with the Fairyblossom court.
Other returning events include about 40 vendors, sword demonstrations and games.
New this year is a pinata-flinging competition using a 20-foot trebuchet, a medieval weapon similar to a catapult.
“The trebuchet is our huge big news,” Hague said.
With the help of friends, Hague came across the trebuchet for sale on Craigslist. She said its previous owner was looking for a new home for the massive machine.
“It’s a fairly sizable piece of medieval siege weaponry,” Hague said. “It’s (got) a roughly 800 pound counterweight on it.”
The trebuchet’s former owner will be on hand to help set it up, she said.
“We’re going to set up some hay bales … and then we plan to huck pinatas from the trebuchet as a competition,” Hague said.
The festival also includes music and games, a pirate ship with mermaids and a knighting ceremony for children.
This year’s festival also has camping, an after-hours fire show for campers and a community stone soup potluck.
“The potluck is kind of a big deal, because to me that is kind of symbolic of the whole community aspect of it,” Hague said.
For more information, go to www.fairyblossomfestival.com.
