Oak Bay woman’s ‘fairy map’ offers magic escape during pandemic

You might have to look closely, but nestled between mossy rocks and dew-covered ferns is a miniature world of fairies, right there in Greater Victoria.

More than one month into the COVID-19 pandemic, an Oak Bay woman is helping families tap into the magical side of their community with a virtual map of fairy gardens and houses across the region.

Ianna Breese has a little fairy world in her own backyard, but she was inspired after seeing people post online about the joy they found in visible fairy gardens during their daily neighbourhood strolls or walks to the grocery store.

“I thought it could bring a little magic to the times right now that are uncertain and scary,” she said. “Finding the fairies and the sparkly rocks…it’s something fun and silly.”

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Inspired by scavenger hunts and other creative activities people are thinking up to keep busy during the pandemic, Breese decided to create a virtual map of the region’s fairy hot spots – many hidden right beneath our noses.

The map doesn’t provide addresses but gives a general idea of each fairy world’s location. Families and fairy-lovers alike will have to do a little bit of searching to find the exact spots. But the map comes with a hint: “Fairies love flowers, shiny objects and laughter.”

Breese says creating magical worlds with her own children when they were younger brought her family a lot of joy. Now she hopes others can find that too, all while exploring their own community and keeping a safe distance from others.

“It’s not something you can see when you’re driving to and from work or driving your kids to school, it’s when you have your feet on the ground, exploring your neighbourhood and seeing where you live,” she said. “It’s a nice way to escape and have fun being in another world…you can momentarily escape the reality of what we’re all going through.”

Breese is still crowd-sourcing undiscovered fairy spots. Anyone who has a tip or a location to add to the map can message her on Facebook.

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