The Bell Tree Fair 2024: Closing Ceremony

[FrostyAlmonds]

Thank you so much again staff for everything, it was a super fun event. And that galaxy cupcake is gorgeous too!

Congratulations to all the contest winners + staff favourites!!! seriously all well deserved, there were so many amazing creations out of this event. But also dnkandad I was not expecting my name to be up there among them, thank you for enjoying my lego creation enough for a staff favourite. I had a whole headache situation spring up this evening so this was just such a well timed surprise to help distract from the dread of the week I'm about to have.

And also I already messaged you all. but thank you so much again for drawing my rep @/ForeverFox @/MrBox @/The Pennifer and @/Xara (privately but still gotta shout you out too c I will cherish your art so much.

 

[Xara]

okay I am going to do my best to not write a big ass speech because I know it's annoying and "I ain't reading all that" and whatever LOL, but I have... many thoughts and feelings.... so get ready

first off, I just want to say a huge thank you to staff for planning, organizing and hosting this huge and crazy event in the first place! TBT fairs are my second favourite forum event, and this year's truly went above and beyond! I know things didn't always go according to plan for both staff and us regular members, but overall this was an incredible event!

I was sick with an ear/throat infection for most of fair, but all the festivities were a wonderful distraction! I enjoyed earning confetti with everyone and loved the excitement of waiting to see what mine and everyone else's mystery balloons would transform into! I loved playing Among Us with everyone during LAN Party and even after (thank you @Dunquixote for hosting so many fun friendlies sessions for the community )! I adore the concept of Canvas Crossing so much, and as daunting as drawing 3 full-bodies initially felt, I had so much fun doing so and was so inspired by the generosity of everyone doing extra drawings that I did some extra drawings of my own!! I wasn't able to complete them all before the deadline and I still have.. 6 reps to draw LOL... but I'm so relieved and happy that everyone who's received a drawing from me so far has liked it!! I also want to give a big shoutout to @Dunquixote, @BetsySundrop, @-Blue-, @.: Meri :., @Foreverfox, @Halloqueen, @Zerous, @xSuperMario64x, @MrBox, @faerie and @azurill for drawing me, as well as @Aquilla, @Chibi.Hoshi and @.: Meri :. for including me in their Magnificent Memories drawings!! I honestly wasn't even expecting one drawing, so the fact that so many lovely people took the time to draw me is just... wow. I love you all

secondly, the animated galaxy cupcake is GORGEOUS?? I've fallen to my knees? Laudine has slayed and blessed our eyes once again, though I never expect anything less. a huge congrats to all of the contest, staff favourite and raffle winners!! every single entry that was submitted this fair, from the artworks to the stories to the desserts to the lego builds to everything in-between, were so unique, beautiful and creative. every single person who participated deserves a trophy as far as I'm concerned. I hope you're all proud of your creations, because you should be and you deserve to be! you are all amazingly talented individuals!

Spoiler: big ass speech incoming

as awful as I felt while creating them (ear/throat infection my behated..), I am truly so, so proud of my entries, and am so happy and emotional that so many of you liked them as well! seeing my story and my room make it to polls was a happy shock, but seeing them actually place is... insane?? as proud as I am of my Dazzling Decorator and Pack for the Party entries, seeing The Brightest Star win first place genuinely made me cry LOL. I've felt very conflicted about my story making it to polls this past week, alternating between being overjoyed and feeling like maybe someone else deserved the nom more, but The Brightest Star is truly so special and personal to me.

I've experienced a lot of loss in the past 3 years, and September-November is an especially hard time for me grief-wise. the 3rd-year anniversary of my nana's passing is actually in 3 days, followed by the 3rd-year anniversary of my best friend's passing exactly 6 weeks later on november 1st. and more heartbreaking anniversaries follow that. grief is truly the worst thing I've ever experienced. I've thought a lot about grief, death and the possibility of there being something after the past few years, and The Brightest Star allowed me to channel some of my grief and some of those awful thoughts and feelings and turn them into something meaningful. The Brightest Star is about love and loss, but it's also about the hope of our loved ones still being with us in some shape or form even after they're gone. it's about life going on after loss, and beauty still existing amongst the grief, and how that isn't always a terrible thing.

thank you for giving me the opportunity to write something I'm proud of, and thank you for loving it as much as I do. thank you to everyone who took the time to read my story, and to share their thoughts with me after. writing is a passion I've largely lost to my near-constant brain fog and fatigue, so this genuinely means more than I'll ever be able to express. and not because I won a trophy, but because my writing resonated with people, and truly nothing ever makes me happier. thank you.

thank you all for making this fair as fun and wonderful as it was!

also the quiz.... not me submitting the answer to #2 for #6. also if I didn't get the half ticket for #10 I swear.... I knew it was referring to Farley's Labyrinth, but it doesn't work on mobile so I couldn't access it!!!

 

[Iris_T]

I had lots of fun with this fair, thanks a lot to all the staff to make it possible and congrats to all the winners

PS: I woke up with so many notifs from the canvas crossing event, its a bit overwhelming asdakkf xDD

 

[Giddy]

I wake up

omgggg it's happening.

I would love to give a warm hug and HUGE thanks to the staff that made such a wonderful fair. I will probably remember this fair and fondness and I think a lot of people really enjoyed their time.

The cake collectible is so beautiful and magnificiant!!! And I am so honoured that my fossil macarons were loved so much!! Sadly didn't taste as nice as it looked haha.
But this is such a lovely surprise to wake up to!!
A super congrats to all the winners, we saw a lot of different creative minds this years fair, not just the people who won the cake but there were so many lovely and beautiful entries. I could tell it was so hard to choose.

I plan to go through all the lovely drawing entries, once back from work ;_: but from the ones I just looked through, they are all amazing and hope everyone gets to wake up to see all this to bring a smile and good vibes to their day!

 

[LadyDestani]

@BungoTheElf I was so sad when you got the right answer for Q2 but put it under Q6.

You weren't the only one. Several people did the same thing. We never even considered that those two questions would get mixed up.

@Foreverfox Your apple pie looked so delicious! I seriously wish I could try it.

Congratulations to all the winners! Every win was extremely well deserved and yet there were still so many amazing entries that I wish we could have included. Final cuts honestly feels like saying, "Okay, which finger(s) can I do without." You're all fabulous!

I want to talk about Besting Blunders separately because writing is so near and dear to my heart.

@Xara Your story was my absolute favorite! I am not lying; it literally made me tear up when I read it. Any story that can touch me that deeply will always have my vote. But I'm even happier to hear what the writing process did for you. I'm so glad you found a way to turn the negative emotions into something positive.

@Bob Zombie I loved the gritty film noir style of your story! It was not something I was expecting at all, but that made it so much better. The mood was so clearly conveyed through your writing style. I could almost hear K.K. Lament playing in the background.

@Zerous Your story was also so touchingly tragic, but also very well written. I loved the use of the stage metaphor and also the poetic phrasing at the very end. Brilliant work!

@Millysaurusrexjr Despite the fact that you didn't place, I still feel a need to call out your story. The concept of a goblin baker was so cute and funny! During the 2022 Enchanted Forest Fair, I also wrote a story involving a goblin, so when I read yours I couldn't help but feel a kinship. Long live Gawa the Goblin Baker!

Thank you to everyone who participated for making this such a wonderful event! We may create the events, but it's your enthusiasm that makes them a success! I'm especially happy to have been able to help with Canvas Crossing since it really brought out the kindness and generosity that I have grown to love on this forum. Special thanks to @/dizzy bone for the original idea, writing it all up, and answering my questions throughout!

 

[Giddy]

I forgot to mention. Omg question 4 I definitely felt like it was talking about my failed frog but I didn't want to believe it would be connected DX

 

[Airysuit]

I can't believe I finally earned a animated collectible the colors are so pretty! Thank you staff Also soo soo soo thankful for everyone that voted for my entry!

I had so much fun this event, I think I was drawing a bit everyday for 4 weeks straight! Haven't done that since college so it was a great experience

Thanks everyone for all the fun, kind messages, confetti dusting, great submissions etc etc etc
Thank you staff for all the time and effort!

Also especially thanks to @Mokuren (it was also really fun drawing your rep! ) @Hat' (such a lovely drawing) @jadetine (love it so much!! and cool coincidence we both drew eachother lol) @Chibi.Hoshi (so great! And such a lovely message thank you) for drawing my rep! I really love them all, they're so cute and thoughtful and happy

I'm really looking forward to receiving the physical prizes!
And especially looking forward to next event!

 

[themysterybidder]

Firstly, I have to say thank you to all the staff as without you these events wouldn’t exist! I can only imagine how time consuming it must be to go through every entry and your dedication to creating fabulous events every single time always amazes me.

Congratulations to @~Kilza~ and @LadyDestani who if I recall correctly are coming up to their anniversary of becoming moderators at the end of September! You have done sterling work and a great addition to the TBT Staff. Also, you have no idea how some of these events have given me a distraction when life has been extremely difficult and helped me smile again especially when I see the TBT community coming together!

Thank you to the members who drew my rep! I would have been over the moon with even one drawing, so a special thank you to @azurill @-Blue- , @KittenNoir and @BetsySundrop . You have all made the Birthday Fair even sweeter for me! I really hope another ‘Canvas Crossing’ type of event will be back at some point in the future. Maybe we could dress up our villagers and draw other members villagers!

Finally, the icing on the cake (no pun intended) was I won an animated collectible in the ‘Canvas Crossing’ raffle! My first ever animated collectible to win! I am so excited and have a line-up planned with it in between my Lily of the Valleys!

It’s been a fantastic Fair and a perfect Birthday nod to TBT! Happy Birthday TBT and wish you all the best for another 20 years and more! Now, it's time to look through all the 'Canvas Crossing' reps!

 

[jadetine]

Big thanks to the staff, of course! I feel guilty for not partaking in every single event that you planned-- of course life gets busy.
I really appreciate the amount of thought that went into screening the entries and the point allocation voting system you've implemented. I do see your efforts to improve and I'm thankful for you!

My favorite events were Canvas Crossing (it feels good to see amazing artists at work and to surprise others with art that means more to them than the random "adjective + noun" situation, thought that was fun, too) and the Lego Brick Building Bonanza. I am so proud that my brick island entry warranted a staff vote and a galaxy cupcake; it was days in the making and still not to perfection, but it reignited my passion for Lego builds and I started building again irl with my kids.

I wasn't fast enough to nab a Julian Party set , but the Maple pumpkin patch will be perfect on my growing Lego / AC / TBT shelf:

I can't wait for the mail!

I have not been the most social lately, but it's lovely to see some old usernames pop up again, and the friendly interactions on the boards. I hope everyone walked away from the event with something to smile about (and if you didn't, let me know, and I will send you something).

 

[Kitsuragi]

congrats to all the winners! i wish i had the spoons to participate more but it was still great to see all of the entries, im always amazed by how creative everyone on this site is.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

nvm you can ignore me, I can't read apparently

I wanted to say thank you so much staff for this event, I wish I could've participated a little more but it's difficult to juggle with all my other life stuff. even with that though I had a lot of fun, loved seeing everyone's entries and I'm so glad you guys ended up liking my Colourful Confetti entry!! I can't wait to see that beautiful sparkly cupcake in everyone's lineups ️

 

[Suguri]

Sadly I didn't win anything, but I shouldn't be surprised, huh. XD Thank you staff for another great event! I had lots of fun participating and getting new collectibles! Looking forward to Mushroom Season and the Halloween event in the coming weeks.

 

[-Apples-]

Sadly I didn't win anything, but I shouldn't be surprised, huh. XD Thank you staff for another great event! I had lots of fun participating and getting new collectibles! Looking forward to Mushroom Season and the Halloween event in the coming weeks.

I did like your Alcremie costume.

 

[Foreverfox]

Your apple pie looked so delicious! I seriously wish I could try it.

Thank you!! It is, it’s the best apple pie I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot! I am 100% willing to bake and send you a pie!

 

[daisyflowers]

really loved the fair. cheers for hosting staff and congrats to all of the winners! seeing all of the entries that everyone has done for the canvas crossing event is super sweet. many thanks to @Sheando, @The Pennifer and @Zerous for drawing my island rep : )

looking forward to the new mushroom season and the halloween events. i am now one with the spooky spirit

 

[xSuperMario64x]

Thank you!! It is, it’s the best apple pie I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a lot! I am 100% willing to bake and send you a pie!

lmk when you make another and I'll come over hehehe

 

[Foreverfox]

lmk when you make another and I'll come over hehehe

Yessss will do!!

 

[Yoshi155]

I reread and rewrote this like five times and it still looked cringe to me so I’m just posting it like this

Anyway, thanks for hosting this event staff! I wish I could participate in the contests but unfortunately I’m not good at… anything… congratulations to everyone that did win something! I didn’t read through every single Besting Blunders entry but I’m sure they were all great.

I really enjoyed (most of) the events I did participate in! Even the ones that I kind of hated like Pin the Tail on the Villager were still fun. I appreciate all the work that the staff put into making this since this was clearly so much work. I wish I could participate in all of them, but, like I said…

To be honest I’m still in disbelief that a single person willingly drew my rep for Canvas Crossing. It wasn’t anywhere near as good as anyone else’s so I felt like no one would really care, so I’m glad that three people did. Thank you @Zerous, @BetsySundrop, and @themysterybidder for drawing my rep! But honestly all of them looked good, and I know everyone says that but it’s true. I think everyone (except me because mine don’t exist) should be proud of their art skills and I’m sure everyone that got even just one drawing is grateful that someone thought of them.

 

[LoveGraceMarie]

Well, where do I start! What an event I’ve really loved it, and this has been the first event I’ve participated in every single contest too congrats to all winners, everyone was great! Thanks so much to the staff, you’ve really made my summer. Roll on Halloween!

 

[Jacob]

Wow, look at all those awesome entries! Congrats everyone, and thank you staff for another awesome event