2006: The Return of the Lakeward Revels

“If the Lake calls, you answer with a dance and a drink. That’s just good manners.”
— Miss Jessa Slipknot, when asked to explain the Lakeward Revels

In the aftermath of the unsettling Samhain of 2003 and the emotional scars left by the Crownless Year, many Kithain of Forest City County felt adrift. The Commoner soul of the city ached for rebalance — not through strategy or vengeance, but through joy, Glamour, and art.

In 2006, the Moondog Barony officially revived a tradition long whispered about but dormant since the mid-1980s: the Lakeward Revels, a three-day celebration of renewal, resilience, and lake-borne Glamour.

Highlights of the Revival

• The Revels open at sunset on the first Friday of August, when a large chalk circle is drawn by the water at Edgewater Park. A procession of Kithain, Kinain, and Dreamers follows, each carrying lanterns or fire-dancing tools to honor the lake’s spirit and the summer’s abundance.
• Glamour is harvested not from fear or grief but from laughter, music, sandcastles, performance, and shared food.
• Notably, this was the first public event where Kaelar the Troll was honored by unanimous acclamation — even before his first election as Moondog. His impromptu lakeside ice sculpture of the Court of the Glam Slam still exists, preserved by chimerae who recite its origin story each year.

Cultural Significance

• The first modern Revel was co-organized by Nova and Miss Jessa Slipknot, and it drew dozens of new Dreamers into the Kithain fold.
• Local artists and musicians, including Echo the Satyr, held performances that resulted in the highest Glamour yield since the late 1990s, according to observers from both baronies.
• A new oathcircle was formed during the Revels and is still active today — it includes a Pooka culinary artist, a Boggan playwright, and a satyr city planner now responsible for “accidentally” inspiring the placement of numerous Glamour-rich public art installations across Cleveland.

Rumors & Reveries

• The White Rabbit was allegedly spotted seated atop a distant lifeguard chair during the final bonfire in 2006. Those who claim to have seen him say he was silently toasting the crowd with a tea cup that shimmered like moonlight on water.
• Some say the lake itself “laughed” that night — a great ripple with no wind.

The Return of the Lakeward Revels marked a new chapter of Commoner confidence and a reminder that even in the wake of terror, the Dreaming blooms again through beauty and community.