Denise Felt's finger pressed into a spot of glue as she helped a little girl create an arts and crafts fairy Thursday.
As she glued sparkly thread (for fairy hair) to a wooden cutout, four young girls talked about their fairy names.
Elise Klein, 7, and Anna Klein, 6, were the fairies Lilac and Isabella, respectively, that day. Cheyenne Studer, 7, of Fulton became Silver Mist - the name of a Disney fairy, while her younger sister Shelby, 5, (who was "Rosie" last week) was unsure what to call herself Thursday.
Denise Felt's fairy name, she told the girls, is Whimsee.
The girls, wearing colorful dresses and fairy wings, asked why she chose the name at a fairy festival inside the John C. Harris Community Center.
"It's a tribute to my younger self," she said.
As a little girl, Denise Felt's seven brothers always told her fairies didn't exist - which the girls were quick to say is not true. Her thoughts, she was once told, could be better described as whimsies.
"And, what do boys know?" Felt said jokingly.
"Nothing! ... about fairies," Shelby Studer said.
Although she didn't have anyone to join her in exploring these magical, minuscule beings as a child, Felt does now in adulthood.
She is the chair of a new non-profit organization, Creative Kids Outreach, which sponsors three monthly children's activities to evoke imagination and creativity. Fairy festivals are one those and are designed for ages 5-8.
At Thursday's fairy festival, carrots were fairy wands, pretzels were fairy wings and grapes were fairy bouncy balls. The girls didn't run, skip and twirl - they flew. And, they didn't simply play a board game. They were fairies going through obstacles in a magical land - being invited to a rain dance by the lead fairy, skating across a frozen lake and riding on a bumblebee - to reach their destination.
Creative Kids Outreach was sparked from a question, Felts said, when her daughter asked her: "If you could do anything you wanted, what would you do?"
Felts' mind went straight to fairy festivals, activities she hosted while living in Illinois. She didn't want to stop with fairies, though.
The organization also hosts "Dinosaur Days," an event designed for boys (girls are also welcome) ages 5-8 to play dinosaur games, sing and dance to dinosaur songs, listen to dinosaur stories and create dinosaur crafts.
Children ages 8-12 can enjoy the "Imagination Station" - an evening of art that focuses on a new skill each month. Events are free and supplies are provided. All activities take place inside the John C. Harris Community Center.
Felts said she believes because the public school system focuses heavily on book work, children are left with little play time. With Creative Kids Outreach, Felts said children learn through playing. Games promote literacy and sportsmanship, and arts and crafts boosts creativity.
"It sparks their imagination, and it's so important for a child - and I know because I didn't have that - to have someone who encourages them to be creative," Felts said.
Felts home schooled her children and helped home school her grandchildren, she said. She was also a Sunday school teacher for more than 30 years. Her fellow board members are Nadine and Daniel Jamison.
For more information on Creative Kids Outreach, visit creativekidsoutreach.yolasite.com.