It feels both strange and natural to find myself always coming back to The Inn.
It’s somewhere I’ve dwelt, at least partly, for over a decade now, and in my heart, probably much longer than that. This past weekend, I had the chance to remind myself why I do what I do, and how much it matters to me.
One thing you might not know about me is that I throw one hell of a themed party. For several years, I’ve thrown a Midsummer Fae party, with various sub-themes changing each year according to the fae court hosting: Flowers and Funghi, Ravens and Rivers, Moonlight and Forest Shadows, that sort of thing. Last year was the last of those in the old house, and it felt bittersweet because of it.
So it felt absolutely right, as the chaos of the last couple of years began to clear, amidst the lingering madness of renovating a new home and (STILL!) waiting for the old one to sell, of divorce and an old-friend-turned-new-partner, and of two clever and wildly strong-willed kids under the age of 5, to throw the most elaborate party yet: Corsairs and Sea Fae.
And because my new place has a barn that’s even longer than the house, I finally got the chance to start building out a tavern. A key difference between this location and the old house is that I have much less land/yard/woodland to work with now. But a properly cool barn from the 1800s that was one of the big selling points for me when it came to choosing this house for the next couple of years. I wasn’t sure of the theme of the party when I did my first walkthrough, but it radiated potential.
The concept: a shipwreck, where a former Corsair queen’s ship was driven against the rocks of Crackhull Isle. But the nearby Sea Fae, impressed by her courage, befriended the queen and began an alliance between their two peoples. The party was a meeting between both sides to strengthen those bonds of friendship. So the barn became the wreck of The Raven, with parts of it submerged and parts above the waterline. There was a vibrant reef with jellyfish, an alcove for a fortune teller, a quieter lounge adjacent to the noisier tavern, and the tavern itself; lawn games and challenges of skill and strength had been planned for outside, but were rained out.
Upstairs was my pet project: a ship’s deck with furled sails, fabric alcoves for whispering and mischief, a ship’s wheel, and a long feast table set for dinner. My cohost Ciel worked absolute wonders on the floral arrangements up there, with an installation of lights and fresh flowers, an explosion of dahlias, zinnias, gomphrena, hydrangea, verbena, sedum, and autumn wildflowers that dripped down over the table in an impossibly lush arrangement. And the best part was, we kept the entire ship’s deck a surprise from everyone. So the moment they all walked across the planks upstairs to the sound of a creaking ship, and ducked below a beam onto the deck with audible gasps, was a triumph.
But after all of that, the dinner and lush desserts, the heart of the party was the tavern. It’s where folks returned to again and again, where raucous games of Liar’s Dice took place, the grog flowed, and new friendships were forged.
And you know what? Despite the work involved, and the months of brainstorming, the weeks of setup, I can’t wait to do it all over again. We’re even toying with the idea of creating a side-business doing small specialty events like this. Or renting out all the crazy fun props and dishware I’ve acquired over the years to other stylists and photographers. Cobbling together multiple businesses is definitely a Vermont thing, from snow-plowing to maple sugaring, so this would be my version of that, I suppose!
But it’s tricky, in so many ways. We throw ourselves at the prep for an event like this (and it shows!) but we are only 2-3 people, and everything is so often right down to the wire that I don’t have time to play with food, which is something I’d love to incorporate into the parties again. I had a whole pinboard of food ideas I didn’t get to try out (a theme for October, perhaps?)
Putting magic into this world, and inviting others to step over the threshold between this world and another, is where I am happiest, I think. It’s what I’ve done with my cookbooks and recipes, and something that’s very important to me. I want to find new ways to do that!
So what do you think? I know there are many elaborate (and expensive!) Fae balls and such being thrown out there, but what about a smaller, more intimate sort of event? Or a tavern setting for gaming in the evenings? Or something wild and awesome I haven’t even yet considered? Is there something in all of that you’d enjoy attending or hearing more about?
Huge shout-outs to the teams behind the scenes: my co-host and partner Mark, who labored into the night so we had benches for dinner, and generally Got Things Done; my co-host and co-dreamer Ciel (@skyinfrench) who always brings such vision and stretch goals to bear on these endeavors; Nick (@nmj_pottery_and_gardens) for growing us such incredible flowers; Talia and Sarah for their annual efforts, Orion, and the slew of friends, grandparents, and neighbors who all pitched in to make this party happen.
