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Fairy garden magic along McClymont Trail

An enchanted garden created in memory of a deceased friend has golden statue stolen
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Courtnay Girbav lost a little of the enchantment when she found a statue to be missing from her memorial fairy garden on May 2 on McClymont Trail. She is hiding fairy jars along the path to create a touch of magic for those who find them. (Photo: K-J Millar/The Northern View)

Walking along the many trails in Prince Rupert should be a magical experience, local resident Courtnay Girbav said on May 3, but recently a gold-coloured Buddha statue she placed in a memorial fairy garden was stolen, lessening the enchantment.

Girbav has recently set up a fairy garden in the wooded entrance of McClymont trail, on 8th Ave E. She had placed ornamental toadstools, fairies, owls, butterflies, mosaic tiles on the ground and in the foliage with the Buddha on a tree trunk. When she attended the garden on May 2 to place more items, to her dismay some ornaments were no longer there. She estimates she may have spent more than $120 on items for the fairy oasis and has since replaced the Buddha with another and added a fairy house.

As of May 13, more items are missing from the garden, Gibrav told The Northern View.

The initial endeavor was in memory of her friend who suddenly passed away on April 5th, while preparing for his wedding. Girbav was helping create surprise guests gifts of minute jars with crystals and paper roses when the tragedy struck.

“I decided to repurpose them into healing fairy jars,” she said. “Along with some coloured gems and a drop of healing oil, there is a note attached saying ‘A special gift from the fairies, from a magic healing bush’,”.

“I wanted to honour my friend and recognize his tragic passing by starting in my hometown of Prince Rupert to hide 10 fairy healing jars, and five notes in a bottle,” Girbav said.

The one-word notes express qualities the world needs to see she said, like kindness, belief, inspire, love, and create. The back story behind the limited number of fairy jars was that if too many roses were picked from the healing bush it would no longer bloom.

“We couldn’t pick all the roses or the bush would lose its magic,” she said. “So the lesson is to never take more than you need.”

The fairy jars have been hidden along the trail for children to find and to add some magic so they can create and play. Girbav is happy to see anyone participate in the memorial project by adding to it.

“I want it to become a community fairy garden,” she said.

“Throughout this tragedy, I found something to give back to the community and who knows maybe the world. One small act of kindness starts a ripple effect. I know I’d like to see a little more love, kindness, and respect in this very strange world we now live in.”


 K-J Millar | Journalist 
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