The temperatures and humidity, the heat advisories and reminders to stay hydrated, the air conditioning running non-stop: all sure signs that it is summer time in North Carolina.  As tempting as it may be to stay inside until October when the heat (maybe) finally breaks, there will be a good reason to get outside in downtown Fayetteville in July.

Midsummer Magic is returning to Downtown Fayetteville on July 24 for the 11th year.  This long-running event is part of the monthly 4th Friday celebration, and is produced by the Downtown Alliance and Spark Downtown, two organizations committed to the growth and success of downtown Fayetteville.

Midsummer celebrations are much older than our city’s celebration, going back more than 500 years in Europe.  With its oldest origins in Scandinavia, Midsummer celebrations included music, dancing, flowers, eating and drinking. With origins in pagan festivals, believed to bring about a good harvest, in time the church blended these traditional celebrations with St. John the Baptist’s feast day.   

While Fayetteville’s Midsummer Magic may not be exactly traditional in the Scandinavian sense, it certainly promises to celebrate the magic of summer.

As with all Fourth Friday events, Midsummer Magic will take place throughout downtown Fayetteville, with businesses and organizations participating in the fun.  As guests walk along the streets, there will be performers and vendors; inside participating businesses, guests will find an array of special sales and offerings.  

All throughout the Midsummer Magic event, guests will be on the lookout for fairy doors.  What is a fairy door, you ask?  They are small doors, not unlike those you might find on a dollhouse or other miniature structure; they are decorated to look like the entrance into a magical dwelling, where a fairy might be found.  Guests are invited to look high and low, inside and out for these small wonders; it will be like a magical scavenger hunt!

This is a perfect opportunity to let your imagination run wild and create your own interpretation of a magical character.  Guests are invited to dress up in magical costumes.  Come dressed as a fairy, elf, gnome, dragon, princess, goblin, sprite, wizard, or any magical creature.  While costumes are not required, they will certainly lend to the magical atmosphere of the evening.  Even if full, elaborate costumes are not your cup of tea, a simple-or elaborate-flower crown will be a great call-back to Midsummer celebrations of old.

The event is free and great for the whole family; no registration or previous purchase is required.  Just dress up, show up, and enjoy the festivities.  

There is still time to be part of creating the festivities.  If you are a fairy hair artist, face painter, balloon artist, or offer a similar magical craft or activity, please contact us at spark@dcwfay.org to be part of the Midsummer Magic.

Midsummer Magic promises to be a family-friendly, free night of fun and frivolity in downtown Fayetteville.  The magic begins at 6 p.m. on Friday, June 24, and lasts until 9 p.m. For updates and the highly anticipated map to the fairy doors, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/downtown-fayetteville/midsummer-night-downtown-magic-crawl-and-fairy-door-quest/1408703027774073/