A Neopian's Guide to the Faerie Festival

Every year, all of the faeries gather at a central location in Faerieland for a celebration. One would have to travel far back in history to find the origins of such an occasion.

In early Neopia, there was not a Kingdom of Faerieland. Instead, the faeries had built a powerful empire, known as the First Faerieland Empire that spanned far and wide in Neopia. Historians believe the festival was originally meant to commemorate their successes on the battlefield. That great empire eventually fell to darker forces which you may know as wraiths. The Faerie Queen at that time created a type of magic that kept the Wraiths at bay, allowing the Second Faerieland Empire to materialize.

The Second Faerieland Empire pursued peace and the faeries liberated much of the land the First Empire had conquered. The Festival became an event to celebrate that peace. However, the kingdom became increasingly divided with some faeries wishing to return back to the days of the First Empire. They did not want to solve problems diplomatically so a civil war broke out between those that wished to remain peaceful and those that wished to return to the days of the First Empire. Queen Fyora came to power and was able to stop the rebellion. She then helped reintegrate the kingdom in a way that created the current Kingdom of Faerieland. The Faerie Festival commemorates now the anniversary of that unified kingdom.

So there's the history, how about what happens at the Faerie Festival? I mean aside from Neopians indulging themselves in as many sweets as one could handle in a lifetime.

Tea with Fyora

Queen Fyora finds ordinary Neopians on the streets of Faerieland and invites them over to her castle for tea in the afternoon. The experience allows these Neopians to converse with the Faerie Queen and voice any concerns they may have. Historically, this event has led to major changes in Faerieland such as the creation of the Employment Agency for Neopians to find jobs and the preservation of the Healing Springs. Fyora is indeed a good listener and given a reasonable idea or request, she will get things done.

Aethia's Battle Exhibition

At this event, The Battle Faerie shows off her battle tactics and invites anyone that's interested to practice them (on a punching bag of course). Much of her routine uses a sword and shield along with body armor, but she also teaches self-defense with nothing but fists and feet. Remember, participation is at your own risk. Fortunately, the event is held near the Healing Springs so any injuries can be taken care of immediately. This event draws large crowds so be sure to arrive early.

The Soup Faerie's Chili Championship

Love chili? Do you love making it even more? Then the Soup Faerie has an event for you! Even if you don't like cooking, you'll most definitely enjoy the wonderful smells and tastes at this event. The Soup Faerie will bring along some of her ingredients and seasonings, but you are expected to try something unique so please bring along other ingredients. The chili beans and sauce are provided as well. If you aren't making chili, you may be lucky enough to be selected as a judge by the Soup Faerie. The Soup Faerie does prefer that you send her a Neomail if you are planning to be a chef that day. She does have to make sure everyone has ingredients and equipment.

Illusen's Archery Challenge

We know, Meridell already has Ultimate Bullseye. Honestly the Turtum does most of the work though. Here, you will compete in an archery competition and you'll have to shoot the arrows yourself. Illusen will provide instructions for the newbies, but veterans can start competing right away. There's a team competition as well as an individual competition. Last year, the individual competition ended up being a head to head shootout between Hanso and Brynn. Hanso ended up winning although Brynn was pretty sure he stole one of her arrows while everyone else wasn't looking.

The Faerie Invitational: Gormball Tourney

Ember always likes to bring Gormball wherever she goes. The Faerie Festival is no exception. Sure there is nothing that tops the actual Gormball Championships, but the winner of this competition gets an automatic bid to enter the actual Gormball Championships. Naturally, most of the faeries stay away from this event, not wanting to ruin their looks from an exploding Gormball. However, plenty of other Neopians are there. Official Gormball rules apply and please remember to bring a change of clothing!

Sentient Toys with Jhudora

Ever wondered what Jhudora does with some of the toys that she asks for on quests? She uses magic to make them alive of course! Now we know the idea of sentient faerie dolls and Headless Von Roo plushies creeps you out. However, the toys are contained in their own enclosure and are trained to act out funny scenes. Trust us, it's absolutely harmless. Nobody has been hurt by any of the toys. Besides, the event list must represent faeries of all elements and Jhudora is a dark faerie. She did not do anything to convince me to put her event in this article, we promise.

Tooth Faerie's Teeth Check Up

Yes, we know this is probably boring stuff but the Tooth Faerie does want to make sure all of Neopia has healthy teeth. She will be checking up on teeth for free and every Neopian parent will be in line to make sure their children are brushing their teeth properly. Brush well kids, you don't want to end up with too many cavities. The Tooth Faerie may decide that you shouldn't have sweets at the festival and will follow you around just to make sure. Also, losing a tooth in bad condition means the Tooth Faerie may decide it's worth nothing to her. Surely you would like NP for all of them.

Fireworks Display

Yep, the fire faeries look forward to the grand finale every year and they put on a spectacular show. The fireworks are in the likeness of the various species of Petpets and also the colors. Just imagine a Maraquan Weewoo in the sky, in all its glory. Now imagine all the rare petpet colors in the skies. It may seem impossible at first but the fire faeries know their magic very well.

So those are the traditional events that happen every year. What about some new events this year?

Hanso's Artifact Museum

After spending these last few years in Faerieland collecting and dispelling dangerous faerie artifacts, Hanso has decided to show off his prized possessions. All of the artifacts have been rendered harmless and inspected thoroughly by Brynn to ensure that nothing accidentally turns the faeries to stone again. We don't know what sorts of artifacts we may find at the museum. Hanso, aside from being a master thief, also specializes in keeping secrets. Still, one would imagine that these are one-of-a-kind rarities that nobody else would possess.

The Art of Wandmaking

It is a little known fact that The Siyana, the First to Rise, is also skilled at making wands and staffs. A good wand has a strong magical core made from rare plants found in the far corners of Neopia. However, that isn't all that makes a good wand. It takes lots of heart and effort from the wandmaker. You must pour all of your efforts into making your wand in order for it to possess strong magical properties. Otherwise, you might just end up with a fancy piece of wood or metal. Anyways, the wands made here will be usable but not strong since the time spent making them is rather short. However, getting such experience will prepare you for making the real thing. Siyana will ensure that everyone attending walks away with newfound knowledge of this art.

Outer Space Specimens

Even Mira, the Space Faerie visits Neopia at least once a year during the festival. With her comes a wide array of space rock specimen. These are rocks not just from Kreludor but elsewhere in space. Of course, some of them are gemstones, but they won't be too shiny. The rocks are used for research so any type of polishing work to make them pretty won't happen. Still, not many Neopians have a chance to go to outer space, even those that live on the space station. It's safe to say this will be a never before seen event.

Cloud Racer Mechanic Workshop

If you are racing other faeries in Faerie Cloud Racer, you are most likely using a rental maintained by Psellia and a team of Air Faerie mechanics. However, if you do become rich enough to own your very own racer, it's important to understand how to take care of such a prized possession. Sure there are shops all over Faerieland and around Neopia that repair racers but wouldn't it be nice to be able to do it yourself? Well Psellia will make sure you do it right and may even teach you some modifications you can make. Bear in mind not all modifications are allowed for Faerie Cloud Racers. Anyways, you may wonder how much experience Psellia has on cloud racers. She maintains Fyora's cloud racer and keeps it in top condition so Queen Fyora can go wherever she needs to be quickly.

Those are all the new events this year. There are also a few retired events and we will list those just for informational purposes.

Magic Dueling

There probably does not need to be too much explanation for why this is retired. It's just too dangerous and although nobody has been seriously harmed, Queen Fyora put a stop to this event because of the risk that a stray curse would seriously harm the audience or an unprepared participant. Originally, this was a duel where participants would lob simple curses at each other until they are unable to continue. Yep, Fyora definitely knew best when she abolished this event.

Dark Magic Exhibition

Not all dark faeries are evil. However some demonstrated rather evil and forbidden curses. Fyora immediately canceled this event as soon as she took the throne. Thus, we now have Jhudora and her sentient toys to enjoy instead.

Faerieland Apothecary

Potion-making is an important art and skill that most faeries have some practice in. It can also be very dangerous. One extra drop of a certain ingredient could cause a cauldron to go up in flames. Siyana stopped a participant right in the nick of time before they added an extra drop of Aquaberry juice. She then told Fyora about the incident and they made the decision cancel the event. If you wish to learn how to make good potions, you can learn that at Faerieland University.

Of course, there's always a dance to finish off the night. Unlike the Valentines' Day ball, this dance is less formal. You don't have to dance with a partner and even Petpets join in. Once the dance wraps up, Fyora gives a blessing to all Neopians before everyone calls it a night.

The Faerie Festival happens every year, but with these events, each festival brings its own surprises and fun. Hopefully this guide gives you a spectacular taste of the fun. Should you decide to go, all you need to do is get to Faerieland a few days prior. Neolodge accommodations fill up fast so please make reservations! Enjoy the festival!