SAVE THE DATES!

WINTERFEST ONLINE 2025

FEBRUARY 8 – 16

ANNOUNCEMENTS

September 22, 2024

𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 – 𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐊

𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 …

Could there be a more fitting line from our show to describe what WFOL is all about? Once again, from February 8th through 16th, 2025, each of us will bring something special to share — your presence, your participation, your creations — to help keep the Dream alive for all of us.

The banquet tables in the Great Hall are being dusted off, polished up, and arranged, ready to receive the “dishes” you will share – your stories, poems, art work, music, crafts, recipes, essays, filks, video and audio files, and more … We hope everyone is busy working on a project or three. Anything you might bring to Winterfest will be sincerely appreciated!

In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing ideas for submissions and posting some encouragements, prompts, and challenges.

Soon, too, we’ll post the Submission Guidelines which will give you all the information you need to share your finished work with others at Winterfest Online.

If you have any questions now, though, please email us: 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬𝟐 (𝐚𝐭) 𝐲𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐨 (𝐝𝐨𝐭) 𝐜𝐨𝐦

The days are flying by and soon we’ll be together Below for nine glorious days. Know that Winterfest will be incomplete unless 𝐲𝐨𝐮 are there!

Our best,
your wintercandlemakers

September 29, 2024

GREETINGS FROM YOUR WINTERCANDLEMAKERS!

Winterfest Online is less than five months away! Have you marked you calendars for February 8 – 16, 2025? :-)

Preparations are already underway in the Great Hall. Fresh candles in all the chandeliers … The tapestries inspected and cleaned …The long tables set up …

Those tables are empty now, but WFOL is a potluck, and they’re ready to receive your contributions. Time can get away from us, so we’re here today with some ideas and encouragements for your submissions that might take a long time to create.

Are you a video maker? (Do you want to try your first one?) Choosing songs and episode clips or stills can be time-consuming. And maybe you’d like to share more than one?!? For inspiration, here are the Video Submissions WFOL 2024

Do you have an idea for a group project? You might want to team with friends to write a back-and-forth or a round robin story. Or devise a themed challenge or prompt and put out a call for participants. Or collaborate with a fan artist to illustrate a story you’ve written.

For examples, take a look at

The Postcard Stories 
The Hearthside Stories 
And the prompt challenge: “Samantha, Ballet Shoes, The Great Hall”

Last Winterfest’s ending survey contained an exciting suggestion for future WFOL content – Audio Dramas! We love the idea and hope there are fans who can make this happen. It would require a story, voice actors, and someone technically savvy to splice together the different recordings and add sound effects. If this is within your skill set, an audio drama would make visitors to WFOL very happy. (For examples, search the web for fiction podcasts.)

It’s not too early to begin any project you’d like to share with your fan family at WFOL 2025: fan fic, poetry, art, crafts, recipes ~ whatever you might imagine. If you can dream it, begin it! And keep watching for more submission information.

Until then, be well … and be busy!
Your Wintercandlemakers

WFOL 2025 Coming Soon

WFOL 2024

WFOL 2004 – 2023

October 9, 2024

A CALL-OUT TO CRAFTERS! 

We hope you’re getting excited about Winterfest. And we hope part of that excitement will have you working on something to share with the other guests.

Are you among those whose mind gets excited and fingers get twitchy when you walk down the craft supplies aisle? Do you have projects or project supplies waiting for attention? Do you like giving a new and interesting life to found objects? Or maybe you’ve already envisioned a new undertaking that hasn’t yet materialized? Why not create a Beauty and the Beast item or two, or complete an unfinished project with a Beauty and the Beast twist?

In the words of songwriter Carrie Newcomer, the work of our hands is love made visible. So show us your Beauty and the Beast inspired crafts: needlework, glass arts, card-making, fabric and yarn creations, woodworking, sculpting, pottery…or something else we may not have thought of. We all want to see what you’ve been working on.  So start fabricating, devising, concocting, constructing, engineering, forging…whatever it takes to wrangle your brainchild into existence. Then … take pictures!

How do you share photographs of your work? Take a look at the Submission Guidelines:

Want some crafting examples?
WFOL Crafts 2024
WFOL Crafts 2023
WFOL Crafts 2019

And, as always, if you have questions, please get in touch with us:
wintercandlemakers2@yahoo.com

We’ll look forward to seeing your work!
your Wintercandlemakers

October 13, 2024

ANNOUNCING A SPECIAL PROJECT FOR WFOL 2025

~ A CHALLENGE OPEN TO ALL! ~

Winterfest always brings an array of amazing offerings from our very talented fan community. WFOL 2025 will include all the favorite contribution categories, plus something brand new …

THE MULTI-MEDIA CHALLENGE!

READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE

And please consider participating!

November 2, 2024

𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐂?

The answer is an easy one. We all do!

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐎𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐘 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 are always a favorite with WFOL visitors. Vincent has been seen in Father’s library shifting volumes around to make space for this year’s submissions, and, following after him, the children have been dusting the emptied shelves. Mouse is on standby, having volunteered to make a new bookcase if it becomes necessary. Let’s make that a necessity!

𝐖𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 – those new to BatB fandom who’ve written their very first story or poem, veterans who have still have folders of ideas stashed away, and everyone in between.

𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞? Is there an idea swirling in your imagination demanding to be written? Have you ever been inspired to expand on an intriguing concept, change elements of an episode, create a new character to interact with our favorite residents of the worlds Above and Below? Well, now’s your chance to transform those ideas into reality and see your work posted for all to enjoy at WFOL! If you need a little inspiration, maybe try a challenge. (See the link below.)

Everyone comes to Winterfest hopeful to find new treats, but remember, our celebration is a potluck – the “dishes on the table” come from you. Our fandom is marvelously creative and WFOL is a great place to share your work, so please don’t be shy. Bring your stories, short or long. Bring your poetry, haikus to epics.

Bring your light!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓.

Until then, be well … and be busy!
Your Wintercandlemakers

November 8, 2024

CALLING ALL TUNNEL ARTISTS!

If you have ever stepped into an art classroom, you know that feeling of wonderful messiness that comes with self-expression. Creativity takes courage … and lots of cleaning products!

Are you are one of our traditional artists? It’s hard to overstate how much we love your drawings and paintings! You bring our Tunnel World to life in vibrant colors and romantic shadows.

Or maybe, instead of working with paint and brushes, you’re a digital artist. Graphic illustrations and wallpapers are highly prized. Comics, too. Do you work with beads, wire, paper, wood, stained glass, clay, or mixed media? You *must* share your gifts of Beauty at Winterfest!

We encourage one and all to throw on some comfortable clothes and create with reckless abandon!

Mark your calendars. Bookmark the WFOL page for the submission guidelines and more: www.batbwfol.com

And be watching for the next candle message!
your wintercandlemakers

Questions? email us: wintercandlemakers2@yahoo.com

November 17, 2024

ANNOUNCING
A SPECIAL POETRY COLLECTION PROJECT FOR WFOL 2025

~ SAVE YOUR SPOT ON THE SHELF ~

A CALL-OUT TO OUR BATB POETS

READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE

And please consider participating!

November 20, 2024

THE LISTENING CHAMBER

The voices … Can you hear them?
Shhhh … just listen …

Greetings from your wintercandlemakers!

Mysterious messages drifting from Above to listeners on the Whispering Bridge. Father’s story-telling talents shared on Halloween night.  Vincent’s enthralling voice reading aloud to Catherine. The children’s choir, a fiddler at Winterfest, a soothing lullaby … We’ve all enjoyed a variety of voices, a symphony of song, a wealth of words and music offered by our beloved BatB folks.

But now we want to hear from you! Add your voices to the WFOL Listening Chamber!

Would you read to us? We’d love to hear a poem, an essay, or a story. You can share your own original work or a favorite by another author (if it’s a fanfic, be sure to get your fellow fan’s permission).

Are you a singer, or do you play a musical instrument? The gift of your music would be special.

To participate, you’ll need to create a voice recording.

Don’t panic! It’s really, really easy using your cell phone.

Or you can use your computer’s microphone and some software.

Here’s a WFOL Audio FAQ to help you get started:  

https://www.batbwfol.com/ComingSoon/audiofaq.asp

You’ll need to send your voice files directly to the candlemakers by February 1st. Attach the voice file to your email with your submission information. We’ll get your recordings to the Listening Chamber for visitors to find when the Great Hall opens on February 8th.

You’ll find more information about the new Pre-Winterfest Challenges, the previous WFOL announcements, and the submission guidelines for sharing your creations, audio and otherwise, here: 

https://www.batbwfol.com/ComingSoon/

Goodbye for now … but we can’t wait to hear from you!
your wintercandlemakers

* * * * *

Questions? email us: wintercandlemakers2@yahoo.com

Not familiar with the Listening Chamber? Here’s the one from 2010.

https://www.batbwfol.com/winterfest2010/subm/listen/