By Liz Marquis

NORWAY — “I’m gonna make a ding-dong bell,” said Karlie Nadeau, 7, of Norway, as she stabbed at her pumpkin with a small carving knife, already thinking ahead to how she was going to attach her pine cone chimney.

On Oct. 28, at the Center for Ecology-Based Economy, Karlie and other local kids were making houses for fairies out of pumpkins – an event organized by the Western Foothills Land Trust.

“We’re always looking for ways to reach out to the community and do something fun,” said WFLT Program Coordinator Kelly Hodgkins.

ICKY — Lily Davis, 5, of Oxford watches while her mom, Tara, removes the pumpkin guts for Lily who said they were “icky.”

Lily Davis, 5, of Oxford, came with her brother, Max, and mother, Tara, who was kind enough to remove the pumpkin guts for her daughter, who said they were “icky.”

“[This is] great because it not only exposes them to arts and crafts, but the outdoors, and establishes a connection to nature,” said Tara Davis.

Max embraced the “ick” and dove right in enthusiastically, while his sister watched and wrinkled her little nose.

“I like it because it’s gross,” said Max, who would later create a tiny American flag out of extra pumpkin pieces, paint it with careful detail, and secure it proudly to his fairy house with a toothpick.

Most of the other children had their adults scoop out the pumpkin guts, but once that was out of the way, the creative juices were flowing.

Steven McCann, 9, of West Paris made his fairy house a two-story home, using a small squash and sticks.

DOUBLE DECKER — Steven McCann, 9, of West Paris constructs a two-story fairy house while his grandma, Sylvia McCann, watches.

Karlie made flower pots out of acorn caps and put them in the windows of her fairy house, complete with tiny purple flowers.

As they worked, the young builders debated the existence of fairies and elves.

Karlie and Lily said they were not real, with Karlie clarifying the only way they could be real is if a boy elf and a girl fairy got together.

Steven disagreed, and said he had a fairy garden at home and had, in fact, seen a parade of his matchbox cars go by it – just one example of fairy mischief.

“You really think my parents would steal my matchbox cars and do that? No way,” he told the skeptical girls.

emarquis@sunmediagroup.net