Dragon's Eye Summer Location Decided

Dragon's Eye Adventures will be at Bowdoin College for the Summer 2022 season. We will be located in the auditorium of Sills Hall, at 1 North Campus Rd., Brunswick. I am happy to return to the Bowdoin College campus, which has outstanding spaces for our outdoor play. 

We will miss the fabulous machines from the Searles' Science building, but the Sills Hall auditorium will be a great space for the Basic Sneak games we play. 

Bowdoin's buildings are no longer open to the public, so we've been told our hallway games in other buildings will no longer be allowed, but the auditorium stage should allow for some excellent games on rainy days. Creative use of limited space has always been our hallmark!

The April vacation program will still be at Freeport Middle School, in the library, under the auspices of RSU5 Community Programs. I am so grateful to RSU5 Community Programs for the continuing support for our school year programs. We had a lot of fun at the Freeport Middle School last summer, and will continue to work with the organization to provide school-year holiday and vacation programs.

Pick up and drop off at both places will continue to be curbside. I am working with both organizations to finalize the details about masks, distancing and other Covid-related practices -- so expect an email close to the start date for each program.

Summer 2022, Session I: The Midnight Cat

The Midnight Cat
RL McNulty

The Summer 2022 season begins with "The Midnight Cat." The program runs from 9 AM to 4 PM on June 27 through July 1. This five-day adventure is for children entering grades 3 through 9. The location for the adventure is still being determined.

The mystery is among the oldest and most re-written stories from the Dragon's Eye treasury. It features my favorite villain, with the record for the most escapes. One group of detectives followed this elusive jewel thief through five different mysteries, until detectives were vowing to spend their entire professional years guarding the prison door.

This session introduces the character to our team.

A mysterious jewel thief known as the Midnight Cat leaves a trail of coded messages that leads the detectives on a wild romp through London. All roads lead to 19th century Paris, and the studio of an artist whose famous shadow plays hid a secret. Can the detectives catch this wily thief, or will the Midnight Cat vanish into the shadowlands following a game of cat and mouse?

We will be crafting Cat's Eye jewels and Shadow Puppets for this session.

 

Summer 2022, Session II: The Fairy Queen's Flock

The second session of the summer is called "The Fairy Queen's Flock" This program will run from 9 AM to 4 PM from June 5 through 8. This is a four-day mystery, with Monday off. The location is still to be determined.

"The Fairy Queen's Flock" is the first mystery written by Oliver Van Soest. He is returning for his fourth summer as assistant, and we have all enjoyed his hilarious cartoon summaries of our mysteries each season. Oliver started as a detective in the program, so I am excited to be featuring his first mystery. The story draws on Oliver's recent studies in Irish mythology and literature.

Trouble lurks in the fairy realms when the Birds of Peace and Healing begin to lose their color. The mystery leads into the fairy mounds of Ireland and across a mythical sea to the Otherworld realms of Tir na NOg. Can the detectives save the Birds before their songs go silent?

Our project this week will feature Fey Creatures. Detectives will be summoning these creatures for help in their mystery.

 

Summer 2022, Session III: The Bottle Tree

The third session of the summer is "The Bottle Tree" for grades 4 through 9. This program runs from 9 am to 4 pm on July 11 through July 15. The location is still to be determined.

A Root Doctor calls upon the detectives for some assistance with the mischievous spirits captured by her Bottle Tree. Truth and lies entwine as the tiny spirits lead our team deeper and deeper into the realms of Gullah and Geechee folklore from the sea islands and lowlands of Georgia and the Carolinas.

Along the way, the detectives will learn about the resilience of Gullah Geechee culture.

Our project this week will be inspired by the quiltmakers of Gee's Bend. We will make quilted pouches to hold our Sea Island Secret Keepers.

Summer 2022, Session IV: Solomon's Ring

Solomon's Ring
RL McNulty 2022

The fourth session of the 2022 summer season is an adventure for grades 4 through 9 called "Solomon's Ring." The program runs from 9 am to 4 pm, with the location to be determined.

Our story draws upon Hebrew, Arabic and Ethiopian legends about Solomon and his legendary ring of power. Last summer, the detectives visited the Market at Wits End, where all things lost and found make their way through the goblin market. Our team purchased Solomon's Ring on behalf of Dog Tinker, a dream mage who has helped the detectives on several cases.

We knew this would lead to trouble -- and it has.

Dog Tinker's cat comes to the detectives in need of their help. It seems that Dog Tinker left his studio after a visit by a magical being. No trace of him can be found in this world or the dream world, so the detectives must follow the clues Dog left concerning his plans.

Our team will trace the ring's journey through the dreamtime to the African kingdom of Ethiopia, following legends and rumors from the animal kingdom.

We will be making Animal Totems and pouches to hold them, drawing on the rich fauna of Ethiopia. Think black lions, hyenas, rhinos, hippoes and gazelles -- some very rare species, others common if you live in Ethiopia. These totems will bring help from the creatures, and allow communication in their language. Something very useful in finding Dog Tinker!

 

Summer 2022, Session V: The Shadow Dragons

The Shadow Dragon
RL McNulty 2022

 

The fifth mystery of the summer is "The Shadow Dragons," which runs from 9 am to 4 PM, on July 25 through July 29. This adventure is for detectives entering grades 4 through 9. The location is still to be determined.

The story draws on ancient dragon lore from Tibet and China, augmented by the Dragon's Eye lore about the Nine Dreamers. Dog Tinker will be teaching our team a powerful, magical dance, using a Tibetan drum, so the detectives may enter the Shadow Realms in safety.

We will meet three of the Nine Dreamers in this adventure. The Nine Dreamers call heroes to begin their journey as dragon mages and detectives. They live in Mt. Draig, and send their dreams through the Jewel of the Dragon's Eye. Each dreamer has a gift, an area of expertise -- and those gifts are part of what they awaken in the detectives who choose to walk the Heroes' Path of Honor.

Our art project will feature Portable Gau. These are tiny, portable shrines that hold bits of cloth, prayer and magic. Tibetans place a tiny figure of the Buddha or one of the Taras, or a Hindu god or goddess of personal meaning to them. For Dragon's Eye, the Gau will hold secrets about each detective's dragon.

Summer 2022, Session VI: Crossroads of Knowledge

Crossroads of Knowledge
RL McNulty 2022

The final session of the 2022 Summer season will feature a mystery called "The Crossroads of Knowledge." The session is for children entering grades 4 through 9. The program runs from 9 AM to 4 PM, with its location still to be determined.

Our mystery this week involves a search for the lost Book of Thoth. All Spirit Roads lead to the library at Alexandria, shrine to the nine Muses and home to countless works of linterature, science, mathematics and astronomy. Our story will draw upon Egyptian and Greek history, legend and myth, with visits by Thoth, the Egyptian god of language and writing.

Ptolemy's reasons for creating the great library and center of learning and study will also be explored, with a brief introduction to the ideas of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. The value of books and learning to society is at the heart of this adventure.

This sessions art project will focus on Book Nooks. These delightful inserts for library shelves are like miniature havens for the Keepers of Books. In our story, these book nooks will become portals that librarians use to reach other libraries in space and time. Each detective will be able to make their own miniature portal to their favorite mythical place where books are valued as the treasures they are.

Detectives are welcome to bring their own materials to add to their nooks. They are about six inches by 4.5 inches x 2 inches, so only the tiniest miniatures will fit! We will have Sculpey in many colors, to make those tiny props.