The Fall & Fantasy Festival is completely FREE; however, it is encouraged that you use this link to secure your free tickets.

The Fall & Fantasy Festival is a locally created and maintained faire. We were founded in Dixon, Illinois and mainly stay within and around the Lee County area (North Central Illinois). The 2025 Fall & Fantasy Festival is being hosted by Granny Rose Animal Shelter.

Please complete the following form. Typically, we reach out to applicants in mass emails in intervals. If you would like to be contacted individually, please specify on the form.

Please complete the following form. Depending on how close we are to the fair it may take two to three weeks before someone reaches out to you.

Please contact our President and creator Jake Wallin, make sure to include "Fall & Fantasy Vendor Inquiry" in the subject line. 📧 Jake Wallin, Creator & President – jakewallin2012@gmail.com 📞 Phone: (815) 994-8212, texts preferred

Please make sure to include Fall & Fantasy in the subject line. 📧 Jake Wallin, Creator & President – jakewallin2012@gmail.com 📧 Diamond Pajak, Vice-President – diamondmerboth@gmail.com 📧 Serena Hall, Vendor Specialist – serenahall15@gmail.com 📧 Trent Johnson, Performance Manager – trjnsn92@gmail.com 📞 Phone: (815) 994-8212, texts preferred

are our biggest and best, flag-pole events of the season, happening at the Beginning (Kiss of the Fae Flora Festival) and End (All Hallows' Eve Festival) [of the Season]. Our overnight events are meant to be immersive, fun, and challenging. Overnight events usually start on Friday at around 6 PM and run through Sunday until noon. During the event we camp and make merry, while feasting and fighting. For exact specifics please check out each individual festival and the meaning behind them. Generally, there is a Court Feast (formal) on Friday evening. Saturday is reserved for combat tournaments, trials, and ultimately the boss fight! Finally, Sunday is our clean-up day and where we part from the event. However, there is plenty of time in between for really anything your character could want to do from singing camp songs, to playing Warsong, to opening a shop and selling wares!

Absolutely! If you are interested in participating in this event but I've never LARPed before or do not have the gear to do so, please contact an admin via our Facebook player group located here and we will be happy to help arrange your stay! If you do not have a Facebook, feel free to join our discord server here!

IRL: The Kiss of the Fae Flora Festival is a Friday-Sunday Overnight and Multiday LARP event, loosely thematically themed around spring and fertility. IN-GAME: Feeling they have no other choice but to rest a weary army on the outskirts of the QuinnRow Forest, the Northbourne Army attempt to commune with a nature spirit to gain their favor and blessings. The Kiss of the Fae Flora Festival is traditionally a time of plenty marked by song, competition, and merriment only reserved for the denizens of the wilds. However, as Clan Dry shows the North hospitality and lies the groundwork for the summoning a powerful Fae ally.

IRL: The All-Hallows’ Festival is a Friday-Sunday Overnight and Multiday LARP event, loosely thematically themed on a combination of Thanksgiving and Halloween. IN-GAME: The Harvest Moon and the Wild Hunt are celebrated together in a multiday celebration known as the All-Hallows’ Festival. The Harvest Moon marks a time of abundance before the harshness and darkness of the Dwarveser (Winter Season). During this celebration the Wild Hunt occurs, in which the Land of Medius sends its “beasts and those beasts who walk in the shape of men” (such as were-creatures, vampires, mimicry bears, and wendigos) to cull the weak and gather sacrifices for the Void Moon occurring during the winter solstice. During the Wild Hunt and especially during the Void moon, it is believed that the veil between the Æthereal (spirit) Realm and our realm and the ShadowDark blurs and that those can be lost to the darkness or even pulled into it and lost between, if they are not careful.

IRL: Money donations go a long way during events like these as well as those who would like to help set-up and clean-up. Donations of water, firewood, blankets, tents and other general camping supplies are also welcome. If you have any specialized skills feel free to speak up and offer them as a service if you'd like to. We always need hands to help. IN-GAME: All the North army is expected to pitch in and help their kin.

Committing to being at our best and longest event of the year as long as you can is the best thing you can do in addition to inviting friends/family to our festivities. You can also help people set-up and tear down.

IRL: Short answer, it depends. Certain venues allow certain things. As an example, Lowell Park is an alcohol-free park and campus. No alcohol is allowed at events being held at Lowell Park. But Granny Rose Animal Shelter allows responsible and legal drinking at our events. The long answer is no ones going to be policing what you do on a personal level but we strive to have events that are welcoming to most people. Overnight events are generally kept at a PG-13 level during the day and 18+ past sundown. Anyone under the age of 21 is not allowed to drink and anyone under the age of 18 should consider bringing an adult with them. IN-GAME: Have you ever partied with a Dwarf? You likely won’t remember it in the morning.

IRL: • If you want to get the full experience of the Event, we recommend trying to stay the entirety of the event with an emphasis on reducing outside distractions such as cellphones. You will need at least a sleeping bag or tent to sleep in along with your LARP gear. We recommend you also bring water and snacks. • Some venues will allow us to stay inside but most of the time we will be outside in the elements. Your tent should be able to be pitched in wind rain and snow as well as have the ability to keep a dry floor. It is possible that some venues may allow us to pitch our tents indoors. In situations like that please make sure that your tent can be pitched without being staked down. • Wear layers. Costuming and Garb can be taken off if it is too hot. Remember that we will not be sitting around a campfire the whole event. We will be playing regardless of temperature. • Think about staying dry. Wool socks and waterproofed boots can be the difference between a comfy camping experience and a miserable one. Use wind breakers, bring changes of dry clothes and keep the inside of your tent moisture free. We will be playing regardless of precipitation. • Simple solutions can often be the best solutions. Plain blankets can be worn as capes and cloaks with the help of Cloak pins and ties. Twine and a rock can be used to make a clasp. • Insulation matters. Throwing extra blankets on the outside of your tent, hanging them up on the inside, or sleeping on extra blankets can make all the difference. You may opt to use a heater or furnace, but if you do; you must follow all fire safety including having a working battery-operated carbon monoxide censor, and an appropriate fire extinguisher for your type of fuel. Wood stoves should burn only hard wood, not coal or charcoal as this can melt stoves! Propane heaters should be elevated away from tent surfaces such as floors and walls and also away from blankets and clothes that may catch fire. Make sure whatever the heater is on will also not melt or start on fire. • There will be no electricity, so plan accordingly. You may wish to dress lightly, or pack battery operated fans to help with the heat. • Food will be provided for those with meal tickets, but donations are very welcome. We will also be staying up into the late hours of Friday and Saturday morning, so adjust your sleep schedule accordingly. IN-GAME: We must prepare for the fights that await us now that we have returned to basecamp, so make merry and lift your spirits now. Be prepared to fight and stay awake into the late hours, despite the cold and wet.

IRL: All our rituals are strictly fictitious and theatrical. No one or any animals will be harmed in any way during the performance. During these rituals, we ask for group participation to elevate story and narrative. If the idea of watching or participating in a fake magic ritual is offensive or not for you, politely decline to participate by saying pass or quietly removing yourself from the scene. Everyone at CER is encouraged to have their own beliefs and opinions and you will never be penalized for those beliefs. IN-GAME: We face dark magic of the All-Hallows’ Eve Void Moon. These are powerful and dangerous magics.

IRL: A Venue will either provide restrooms or we will be providing porta-potties however we advise anyone who can “go behind a tree” to do so to reduce the amount congestion within the public restrooms. Please use common sense and be appropriate when doing this since we are in public. (A privacy tent can be erected to use.) Showers will likely not be available, and you will be “grubbing it”, so bring any personal hygiene items you wish to use. Anyone caught stealing, vandalizing or otherwise being disrespectful will be dealt with by admins and removed from the game and/or criminally charged if need be. IN-GAME: Marching war bands are all too familiar with the grit and dirt of the trail, however citizen of Northbourne pride themselves in hygiene and presentation. Remember if you can smell yourself, so can everyone else.

IRL: We will continue with our plans in rain or shine, cold or heat, so dress and prepare accordingly! We advise you bring ways to heat up such as hot hands and warm drinks. We may adjust the or move the schedule of events based on the safety of those at the event. On the rare occasion that the weather is too burdensome or dangerous; we will instead be inside. This information would be posted on our website and events on Facebook so make sure to follow events if you are unsure. In the case of extreme heat, we will move the majority of the physically intense roleplaying, combat, and trials to after sundown or inside an airconditioned environment.

Easy answer, no. While we strive to have a setting similar to a renaissance faire as far as immersion, we are not performative for the public’s sake. This event is cooperative game for LARPers in which those present are expected to cooperate by playing, abiding by the rules, and being invested. While we do open Friday and Saturday night up to the players’ friends, family and the general public, this is intended to show those people what we do and get them excited about LARP. Politely, CER LARP overnight events are not a “bring your stroller and walk around while you are entertained drinking beers” kind of event. We even recommend that children under the age of 18 are not permitted to stay past sundown.

IRL: Many other players may sell goods or services, so having some spending money may not be a bad idea. • If you are a player and interested in setting up a booth or having things to sell at ours, please contact Game Creator and Admin Jake at jakewallin2012@gmail.com . Vendors may on sell items to peoples attending our festival at this time. Please do not try to solicit other park guests without express permission of Jake or the Dixon Park District. • If you would like to purchase something in-game, there will be two prices for an item: an in-game cost and an OOG (out-of-game) cost. By purchasing an item, you agree and pay both prices. • Vess’ Best Vestments will be joining us selling period dressed and cloaks. IN-GAME: Wherever there are people, there is gold being exchanged; as sure as a Dwarves’ heart keeps’ a beatin’.

You will need your costume, gear, a light source (preferably other than your cellphone), some way to sleep such as a hammock or sleeping bag (you may sleep outside but beware of bugs, animals and weather) and at least some water to hydrate. If you did not purchase a meal ticket you will need some snacks. It is recommended that you bring what you can to immerse yourself and help simulate that experience for others such as covering containers that are too modern.

Yes! As long as you are not hindering anyone or being bothersome to anyone else during your down time you may explore, but you are responsible for making your way back to camp. Don’t go on an hour-long hike if you need to be back to camp in 30 minutes. Likewise, do not take heavy gear with you if you are unused to hiking with heavy gear. It is recommended that you do not take anything into the woods that would easily be lost such as trinkets and ammunition.

"The Trials" are contests of skill to pass the time. Those who can best their kin may receive a special reward and mainly bragging rights. There are typically two contest trials for each of the seven Key Stats in CER LARP and are as follows (in no particular order): • Might • Magic • Luck • Toughness • Will-Power • Wits • Reflexes Teams will be split into 4 groups: Diamond, Helm, Axes, and Bows. The exact events tend to be kept secretive until the competition but over the years we have definitely developed some favorites. If you want to learn more about the trials or have a question please refer to any of the team captains. (Participation is welcome but not required.)

The CER LARP Traveler’s Program is designed to bring passionate LARPers from various systems to experience our world and community—at no cost to them. As honored guests, selected travelers will have all their event expenses and lodging fully covered, within reason and according to the budgetary limitations of our group, ensuring a seamless and immersive experience. How It Works: Nominations: Players and participating LARP systems can nominate candidates. Individuals may not nominate themselves. Candidates do not need a home LARP, only an active involvement in the LARPing community. Voting Process: Nominees are placed on a selection list. The community votes through a combined poll on Discord, Facebook, and Patreon. Social media influence or special accolades do not guarantee selection. Voters are free to choose candidates however they wish, even if popularity plays a role. Program Participation: The candidate’s home LARP does not need to be part of the Traveler’s Program. If a system frequently nominates travelers, we encourage efforts to join the program and establish a reciprocal relationship. Our goal is to share our rich lore and system with as many people as possible, fostering connections across the LARPing world. We encourage you to submit a candidate for the Traveler’s Program or consider joining the program as a system. Let’s build bridges between LARP communities and create unforgettable experiences together!