Announcing the Winners of the 2021-2022 Enchanted Woodland Trail

The Fairy Houses and Gnome Homes this year have been some of the best so far since beginning the Enchanted Woodland Trail. The trail this year included some of the most diverse and unique designs that we’ve ever had, which made the competition very stiff.

The results are in and…
First place went to house number 28, by Sally Mullikin and son Nick Gellerstedt (age 11), CNC members

Second place went to house number 23, by Holly Kirk and daughter Tori (age 5), CNC Members

Third place went to house number 36, by Katterina Nangle

People’s Choice Award (voted on by CNC visitors at our Enchanted Woodland Wonders event) went to house number 26, Phillip Turner and his 4 granddaughters, CNC Members

First place Winner: House 28

The first-place winners, Sally and Nick, wanted to repurpose broken, used stringed instruments as their fairy houses. Sally makes and repairs stringed instruments, so using the broken cello and violin as their structure is a great use of a beautiful instrument that is used in a different way.

Sally took a tiny, broken child-sized cello to form the main structure of her build. Nick, Sally’s son, took and repurposed a violin for his creation. Both houses are connected to each other with a little bridge. Sally and Nick’s vision was the idea that these broken instruments had been abandoned outside and they were reclaimed by nature. You can discover more details about House 28 here. 

Second place: House 23

“We built a hospital for fairies and familiars. When a fairy or an animal friend is injured where do they go? Our hospital of course! The doctors here treat a wide range of patients, including fairies, gnomes, birds, mice, and others. When the hospital is full or if you find an injured animal, we contact Animal Help Now at ahnow.org. Should a patient need a life flight, we have a range of flying animals participating in EARS (Emergency Aerial Rescue Service).”- Holly K.

Third place: House 36

    
“The fairy princess of the forest will be enthroned in the coming spring. The evil fairies of the forest have other plans and have threatened her life and want to enthrone their own princess. In this scene, we’ll see what the fairies have done to save the life of their future queen. They have frozen the princess by putting her into a deep sleep until next spring. She is being hidden away in an enchanted tree house which is being protected by the fairy guards and small animals of the forest.”
– Katterina N.

People’s Choice Award

“Four little sisters dreamed of creating a fairy house complete with the fairy princesses’ little squirrel. And the visitors need to help feed the pet squirrel! Hard work and creative ideas for #26 Fairy House Lane by the sisters.” 
-Phillip and Debi Turner and their 4 granddaughters: Tinley, Vida, Declan, and Ellis

Don’t forget you can visit the Enchanted Woodland Trail daily through February 28th! Included with general admission and free to CNC Members. Purchase admission tickets in advance to secure a date and time for your visit. Members may also make advanced reservations. Spots are timed and limited, however, we may be able to accommodate walk-ups based on daily visitation. Watch this video to get a glimpse of some of the amazing fairy and gnome houses you can expect to find on the Enchanted Woodland Trail. This is the perfect time to get out in nature and immerse yourself in an enchanting experience that you don’t want to miss!