Evie's Tavern Presents: The Midnight Festival Gaia's Embrace
June 13 - June 15, 2025
Site was Sterling "The Hall @ 34 Ford Road" - Sterling, MA.
Event Holders were Sarah Fournier, Dani Lacasse, Jasper Sierra.
Event Description
Under the strawberry moon, hearts shall bloom, and hope shall root. With Edaonae gone, and the land of Eroewan wounded, its people stand on the brink- torn between sorrow, suspicion, and survival. In the shadow of this uncertainty, a spark of hope flickers: the coming of Gaia, the ancient earth-mother whose awakening in these lands may restore balance to the country of Blackwood. But Gaia’s arrival must be earned. And the hearts of Blackwood’s people- especially those in the wary and withdrawn grove of Eroewan- must first be stirred to believe. To that end, a great celebration is planned beneath the midsummer Strawberry Moon: The Midnight Festival. A night of enchantment, music, and ritual meant to honor the past, embrace the future, and open the land to Gaia’s spirit. You are more than a guest, you are a spark in a fragile flame. Whether you are a faithful of Edaonae, a wary skeptic, a joyful believer in Gaia, or a soul caught between, your words and deeds may sway the souls and spirits of Eroewan. Let the music swell, the fire rise, and the stories begin. Summer is coming, and with it, a choice that will shape the fate of Blackwood. OOC: We are incredibly excited to present a questing event unlike any you’ve ever seen. Join us on Friday night at Evie’s Tavern! We will be hosting a snacky potluck, and the tavern will be selling fanciful drinks! A night quest will take place once folks are settled in from the drive. For those who would like to just relax and socialize for the evening, there will be gambling in the tavern, and a warm bonfire to hang out around. Note: this is a damp site, so feel free to BYOB and enjoy responsibly! Saturday will be semi-open world questing starting around 11am. There will be many picnic snacks provided throughout the day, then we’ll break for dinner around 6. Saturday night will feature the Midnight Festival itself, with some of the best vendors in the Realms (and some you’ve never met) offering wares for players to shop and enjoy. There will also be plenty of carnival games to play, food to enjoy, stargazing, and dancing. Whether you want to browse the marketplace, gamble and snack in the tavern, dance around the fire, explore the forests of Eroewan, or just soak in the atmosphere, there will be something for everyone to enjoy! Expect questing on Sunday to round out the weekend. We can’t wait to see you!
Event Wrap-up
The Midnight Festival staff would like to sincerely thank everybody who came together to make this event the success it was. The list of people to thank is extensive, and it is a testament to how wonderful and supportive this community is. Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude. To our wonderful vendors: Meg and Steve M, Maryanne E-B, Casey L, Rebekah S, Briar S who wrote a lovely WIWTG article for us, Arthur G who impressed us with his fire poi, and John P, whose potato stand left all of us in awe, and very well fed on Saturday and Sunday morning! Another thank you to Casey who made the adorable patches for our kitchen staff, I’m obsessed with them! It meant the world to have so many talented artists, designers, culinary geniuses, and makers supporting this event and bringing the Night Market to life. We had a few first time Realms vendors and I was so thrilled that you chose to make your debut with us! Thank you James M and Emily M for bringing and running the casino, and bringing an extra pop up tent for our vendors, and Steve M for running Stacked Deck. Gambling is one of my favorite things to do at the Realms and having games available all weekend for folks was great! A massive massive thank you to our phenomenal NPCs: Charlie P, Kathy F, MJ R, Matt H, Emma S, Keith C, Cody G, Jamie B, Kelsey M, Anna H, Mike Z, Seamus P, Sean F, Greg F, Ted V, Kelly P, Justin T, Kelly B (who appeared as Gaia for a seance!), Tanner W who played Pogo the clown, Crystal W who absolutely slayed the role of Louisa the festival organizer, and our head NPC Tom G. Encounter after encounter, you all brought whimsy and fun to this event, rolling with the punches and giving the players some awesome stories to bring home. Thank you Justin B-H, Nataliya K, Crystal W, Lynn B and Charlie P for helping set up the carnival games and raffle on Saturday evening, we appreciate you so much! Another shout out to Kelsey M who brought jingly belts for dancers and gave amazing belly dancing lessons, and Mike Z who brought his guitar and speaker to add ambiance to the evenings. The music you played during the gorilla encounter had me crying laughing, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment! A huge shout out to our incredible kitchen staff who cranked out amazing food all weekend: Kelly B, Jasper S, Justin T, Charlie P who hopped in to wash dishes, and Matt B who brought his award winning Blackwood meatballs. Dish after dish, you all knocked it out of the park, keeping us well fed and excited for more! Another thank you to Justin T, Jasper S, and Jarryd K for manning the bar throughout the weekend. Thank you Joey C, Nixon S for helping clean up on Saturday night, Adam B for loaning us NPC weapons, and Kieran B and Justin B-H for grabbing water and ice! Thank you Dustin M for helping tidy up the tavern, Ryan W for staying to help with clean up, and a massive thank you to Stephen S who took care of all of the trash, taking that burden off of us was huge! I’d like to give a shout out to my boyfriend Jarryd who was there through every step of this process. Thank you for always being enthusiastic about the things I’m excited for. Thank you for never once doubting me, and reassuring me when I got stressed or worried. Thank you for being my right hand man through decorating the tavern, for setting up mods and moving props, and keeping the fire big and toasty all weekend. I appreciate you more than words can say. To Jasper S, thank you for jumping into event holding for the first time with me. I’m so glad we got to have this experience together and create a whimsical food filled wonderland for the weekend. You absolutely killed it in the kitchen and the menu you and Kelly created was fabulous. Thanks for diving in head first, adapting as needed, and keeping the vibes light and positive all weekend! To Dani and Ben L, thank you for hearing my ideas and always supporting me. When I first considered creating an Evie’s Tavern event series, I knew that I’d need mentors and friends to back me up, and you were there for me from the start. Dani, you were the cornerstone of the questing for this event. The silly ideas we brainstormed became reality because of you, and I am so grateful that you chose to take this on. Thank you for running everything behind the scenes, keeping mods on time, always being patient and sharing your brilliant mind. Ben, thank you for letting me run my tavern in your home, Eroewan. Thank you for running deeper Eroewan content throughout the weekend to juxtapose the silly festival shenanigans I was eager to throw. Thank you for writing and hashing out our Sunday content and coming up with ideas on the fly. Thank you both for being such amazing friends and making my wildest dreams come true with this event. And finally, we want to thank the players who came and supported our event. This was a massive undertaking, and to have so many people show up for this event that we poured our hearts and souls into means the absolute world. We hope you had an amazing time; we did! If you enjoyed the event, we would really appreciate it if you left us a review on Realmsnet. We will be sending out a PEL, please fill it out so we can throw an even better event next time! Love, Sarah/ Evie on behalf of the Midnight Festival EH team
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