Soaring High at FanWing Fest: A Dragon-Sized Celebration!

Gracelynn with Annabelle G. (14 years old), one of the FanWing Fest attendees (credit: Andrea Gracey).

FanWing Fest is a celebration of the Wings of Fire series that takes place in bookstores all over the country. Fans of the series gather and celebrate the magic of reading. When guests check in, they are greeted with a book of fan art and a limited edition of one of the Wings of Fire books.

JJ B. (right - 11 years old) posing with Animus S. (center) and another dressed up attendee (credit: Andrea Gracey).

I attended the event in Fairfax, VA. There were many exciting activities including face-painting, origami, a reading nook, a small gift vendor, trivia shows and more. Guests even had the chance to get photos with the author and the illustrator. The author Tui T. Sutherland answered questions from the audience. This was incredibly popular with attendees.12-year-old Ruari W. said the best part of the event was “…probably the photo op and the tattoos.”

The reading nook was a great spot for kids to sit and read books from the Wings of Fire series. The trivia show got the crowd excited with questions about certain parts of the series. A lot of the kids were there because they loved the series and the characters. “I love how in the books the female characters are really powerful cause I feel like in a lot of fantasy books you don’t see that as often,” Astral S. exclaimed.

A Party of Dragons

During the event, there was a parade for those who dressed up as a dragon or one of the characters. Some wore dragon costumes and others wore clothes or dresses with wings and dragon masks. “I love how in part one of Wings of Fire, Sunny, Tsunami, Glory, Starflight and Clay band together, they work together, and they save the world from doom,” 14-year-old Annabelle G. said happily.

Ruari W. (12 years old) holding her homemade mask (credit: Andrea Gracey).

A lot of the kids said they would love to come to another one of these events. “I love the world and the world-building and the fantasy that I get to indulge in,” Animus S. shared.