Enchanted Islands is a dazzling and transportative live storytelling experience for audiences of all ages. In 2026, this marvelous project floats into view at the Hudson Valley Beltane Festival in May; In Jersey City's Washington Park in June, at Nellieville on Deer Isle, Maine in July; and then travel to Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère in the Dordogne region of France later this summer, thanks to the support of the Résidence Artistique la Pialussonnerie.

What is ENCHANTED ISLANDS? ...Think of it as Faerie Queen Story Hour. Wandering through the woods, you happen upon the Faerie Queen, clad in otherworldly finery, waiting to tell you a story. This unique project was created by writer-performer Melody Bates in 2023, in collaboration with costume artist Jennifer Paar and sculptor Peter Beerits.

ENCHANTED ISLANDS has been featured in New York Family, and includes five original tales, each with its own couture costume created by Jennifer Paar: All the Birds of the World, Cap-o-Rushes, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and Diamonds and Toads. Melody's new version of the Sleeping Beauty story-- The Tale of the Sleeping Woods -- and a new couture costume by Jennifer Paar made their debut in Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère in July 2025