On the trail of the Butler fairies
Downtown Butler has been harboring secret inhabitants who move among us unseen. But people armed with the clues provided by a mysterious passport may be able to track the magical beings to their hidden homes.
That’s the premise behind Butler Downtown’s Fairy Door Trail program, launched to provide a family-friendly activity centered on Butler’s Main Street.
Krista Washkau is the secretary and Lisa Helmbreck is a member of the design committee of the 501(3)(c) nonprofit organization, whose mission is the revitalization of Butler’s downtown with an emphasis on Main Street.
They said downtown has been the scene of coffee trails and beer trails but nothing for younger visitors.
Helmbreck said, “I actually had heard of a fairy door trail. We researched some cities to see how we wanted to do it here.”
Helmbreck and Washkau came up with a backstory that 13 fairies live in downtown Butler.
“Fairies are living here in secret,” Washkau said, “This offers a glimpse into their lives. We don’t see the fairies, but they have been a presence for a long time. We just didn’t know it.”
The two enlisted 13 businesses to give each fairy a home, complete with a miniature door that the businesses decorated.
“We do provide the doors. We offer to decorate, but someone in the shop always seems to be artistic or crafty and wanted to do it,” Helmbreck said.
The participating businesses also provided “their” fairy with a name and a quote that points to the location of the door.
Washkau said, “The businesses pick the names and the quotes. The fairy can be a mischievous creature, or they can help out.”
“We got a lot of calls and texts from businesses. People were buying into it and the ideas were flying,” said Helmbreck.
The names, quotes and a partial picture of the door were printed into a passport to help seekers track down the fairies. The passports right now are available at the front desk of the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Pittsburgh Butler/Centre City, 125 E. Jefferson St., or by downloading and printing the passport from butlerdowntown.org.
Then, armed with the passport and its clues, seekers young and old can travel up and down both sides of Main Street seeking the doors.
Once they find a door, the searchers enter the name of the business next to the name of the fairy that lives there.
They then turn the completed passport in at the front desk of the Springhill Suites and receive a prize pack courtesy of Butler Downtown and are deemed an expert seeker.
Washkau said the doors are placed in the storefronts of the participating businesses so hunters don’t have to go inside the businesses.
“The thought process was we wanted this to be year round with no time constraints,” said Helmbreck. “It doesn’t have to be done all in one day because children can get tired and distracted.”
They said the Fairy Door Trail made its debut in June during the Jeep Fest and Butler Downtown has given out hundreds of passports.
“We’ve had about 40 turned in,” said Helmbreck. “We’ve handed out hundreds. But if you don’t have time, you don’t have to get it done in one day.”
The first one to turn in a passport was a young boy, the second an elderly woman in a walker “who was having fun finding them,” said Washkau. “It was truly an all-ages activity.”
Washkau and Helmbreck said Butler Downtown hoped to add more businesses in the future including some along side streets. With enough businesses participating, someday in the future the group might have a fairy-themed event in the downtown.
