A little sprinkle of magic will be spread at this year’s Valparaiso Popcorn Festival. Staff from Flanagin’s Bulk Mail Service will dress up as Flanagin Fairies at the Popcorn Parade. Every year, the Fairies hand out candy to children, and this year, they wanted a very special little girl to become a fairy. They sought out 10-year-old Madalyn Tague from a previous Popcorn Parade. Tague was crying because she didn't get any candy like the other children, but a Flanagin Fairy had something more special in store.
Madalyn’s mother, Lisa Tague, said they handed her daughter a special stone that symbolized magic and how it would make her good dreams come true.
“I made a necklace out of the stone, so she could wear it and have it safe,” Lisa said. “We saw the fairies the following year at Popcorn Fest, and they remembered her right away. They remembered her from the necklace and they wanted her in the parade. Not a whole lot of kids get picked to be a fairy!”
Flanagin Fairies will sometimes seek out children and let them walk in the parade alongside them, handing out candy and celebrating the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival.
“They also go out and do different things in the community; they do programs at the library, and programs at some schools, and, of course, they march in the parade and greet everybody,” Lisa said.
Madalyn is excited to march in this year’s parade as a Flanagin Fairy.
“I want to be in the parade so I can get noticed by everyone, that way I have attention,” Madelyn said. “But my favorite part about the parade is getting candy.”
Madalyn said the special moonstones look like “fish tank stones”. She now wears her special stone around her neck, so it is always with her.
“She was just upset one year, a fairy saw her, gave her the stone, and then they saw she had a necklace made out of it the following year,” Lisa said. “The fairies were looking all over for Madalyn. They were asking different places and asking people if they knew who she was; they really wanted to find her!”
The Tagues go every year to the Popcorn Parade. This year is extra special because Madalyn will be dressed as a fairy greeting family and friends. The Tagues love that Northwest Indiana holds the annual festival to bring the community together.
September 8 is this year’s Valparaiso Popcorn Festival. Catch Madalyn and all the other Flanagin Fairies for candy! And who knows…maybe you’ll catch a magic moonstone, too…
