Summer 2017 Session VI: The Dream King

The Dream King
R L McNulty 2017

The sixth session of the summer 2017 season runs from Aug. 7-11. The mystery is "The Dream King," an advanced adventure for ages 12 to 16.

The Detectives met Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, during the 2014 adventure entitled "The Mask of Dreams." This summer, the mercurial dream god returns to ask for the Detectives' help.

The quest leads into the Greek dreamtime, where naiads and oceanids are the norm. Did I mention Charybdis? Yes, we’ll be facing Charybdis, which means Scylla will be there, too. Talk about trouble between a rock and a hard place ...

Our projects include dream amulets and handcranked story scrolls.

Summer 2017 Session V: Madame Drak

Mistresses of the Copper Mountains
R L McNulty 2017

Session V of the Dragon's Eye summer 2017 season runs from July 31 to Aug. 4. It features a mystery called "Madame Drak" for detectives ages 12 to 16.

Madame Drak is a fortune teller. She sits in her brightly-colored booth, providing cryptic messages and dire warnings concerning each mystery. Last summer, she vanished from her booth, leaving a sign that reads, "Gone Fishing."

When Madame Drak fails to return, the Detectives set out to find her. Who is this mysterious soothsayer who brings the 3-Penny Mysteries to the Detectives? The answers lie in the Ural Mountains of Russia, home of the Mistress of the Copper Mountains.

Our projects include scrying tools and Russian black lacquer boxes.

Summer 2017 Session IV: The Sea Serpent

The Sea Serpent
R L McNulty 2017

Session IV offers an adventure for ages 9 to 12 on the Bowdoin campus. We'll be sailing into the winds for a mystery entitled "The Sea Serpent."

Maine pirates and deep sea lore are the subject of this adventure. Dixie Bull was the first pirate in Maine. He had a short and less-than-glorious career as a pirate, and disappeared mysteriously. This opens the door for a Dragon's Eye mystery--so we'll be combining the story of Mr. Bull with some of the Maine sea serpent lore that has accrued over the years. We’ll be whittling a whopper of a tale this week!

Our projects include scrimshaw serpent’s teeth and pirate maps.

Summer 2017 Session III: Turtle Mountain Dreams

Turtle Mountain Dreams
R L McNulty  2017

The third session of the summer will be held from July 17 to 21 at Bowdoin College. This adventure for ages 9 to 12 is called "Turtle Mountain Dreams."

The Detectives are called to the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota to investigate the disappearance of the turtles.

What they discover shakes the foundations of the earth, which lies on the back of a turtle. Fasten your seatbelts. We’re in for a rough ride!

It’s turtles all the way down for our projects! Turtle art, turtle books, turtle treasures ...

Summer 2017 Session II: The Leafy Sea Dragon

The Leafy Sea Dragon
R L McNulty
2017

The second session of the Summer 2017 season is a mystery called "The Leafy Sea Dragon." The adventure is for ages 6 to 9, and will be held at Sills Hall on 1 North Campus Dr., at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.

In the coral reefs off the coast of New Zea­land live these delightful little creatures called leafy sea dragons. These relatives of the sea horse carry their own leafy disguis­es to protect them from the creatures that might eat them. Our mystery this week fea­tures a leafy sea dragon who needs some help to protect the reefs from a rather scary monster.

Our projects include sea horses and coral reef treasures.

Summer 2017 Session I: Midcoast Trolls

"Midcoast Trolls" by R. L. McNulty, 2017

The first session of the Summer 2017 season features a new adventure inspired by last year's troll mystery. My photographic explorations of trolls in the Midcoast area convinced me that trolls are not confined to Scandinavian shores. This was further confirmed by the father-daughter team of troll experts, Bradford and Ingrid Bowman, who shared their theories about troll migrations to Maine.

The result: Session I, "Midcoast Trolls," July 3 thru 7 (closed on July 4), a 4-day mystery for ages 6 to 9.

In this new adventure, two troll friends return to ask the Detectives for help finding their long-lost cousin, a sea troll last seen wading off the coast of Norway. The clues lead back to the shores of Maine, where the Detectives discover that trolls have been immigrating to the US for centuries. Let’s hope they’re all friendly. And vegetarian. And while we’re wishing, let’s hope they’re all friends of dragons.

Our projects include Tomtes and sea troll slime. One can’t have enough troll slime.

The Dragons Return to Bowdoin College

Hiding from Dinosaurs on the Bowdoin campus
Summer 2015

We'll be returning to the Bowdoin campus this summer. While this does mean a return to a smaller room, we gain the rich landscape of Bowdoin College and possible visits to places like the Arctic Museum, the art museum or the Bowdoin library archives. As I create more Maine-based adventures, such as "The Sea Serpent of Casco Bay," those library archives become a place we can visit to see maps and learn about Maine's history.

A very special thank you to the Landing YMCA for hosting the Dragon's Eye Adventures program last summer. We loved our time at the Y and will continue to use that space for school-year programs.

Return of the Midnight Cat: April Vacation Program for Ages 9 to 16

Dragon's Eye is sponsoring an April vacation program for ages 9 to 16 at the Landing YMCA in Brunswick. The program runs from 9 AM to 4 PM on Tuesday through Friday, April 18-22.

The Midnight Cat returns with chaos following in her shadowy wake. This daughter and granddaughter of two Egyptian goddesses has a habit of “borrowing” precious jewels and artifacts from famous museums. This rarely works out for her, since the artifacts often bring problems of the mythical kind. It’s a good thing cats have nine lives.

Once again, the Detectives must step in to save the day from the troubles that follow the Midnight Cat. Our dragonmages will need all of their wits and a bit of knowledge of Egyptian mythology to solve this tangled tale.

Our activities will include Egyptian amulets and hieroglyphics.

Winter Queen - Recap - Winter 2017

This past week, nine Detectives joined forces to take on the Cailleach Bheur, the Winter Queen of Scottish mythology. This one-eyed, blue-skinned, wrinkled old giant was in a tizzy and her Storm Wolves were exhausted. Winter would never end, unless the Detectives intervened.

The Detectives started by visiting the Winter Queen, to find out why she was in such a fury. They approached her at the Corryvreckan Whirlpool, where she washes her green plaid white, but the lady was not interested in talk. She blew the Detectives on a northeastern wind all the way to Loch Ness.

Nessy's Throne Room

Yes, that would be the Loch Ness, home of the Loch Ness monster. Naturally, Nessy made her appearance and the Detectives learned the secret of why the Cailleach was in a bad mood. I'm trying not to give away secrets for the next time the Detectives solve this case, so let me just say that this group of Detectives used some clever methods to reach Nessy. There were selkies and quartz crystals and a very funny little crab. And, of course, Nessy. Her throne room was particularly lovely.

So, then the team flew on the backs of Storm Wolves to a certain barn and some fields, where they searched for a certain something that shall go unnamed. They're clever, these Detectives, so naturally, they found it and returned it to its caretaker. He promised not to lose it again.

With the problem solved, the Detectives returned to the Winter Queen. Surely, she would be happy, now that they had fixed things. She wasn't. Well, she was, but it wasn't enough. She kind of liked being Winter Queen, and wasn't really ready to let spring return.

Cailleach Bheur and Storm Wolves

So the Detectives headed to the place where the Winter Queen hides her most precious treasure, the one that brings spring back to the world. They found it ... guarded, of course, by something rather frightening. This was where courage came in, time outs were called and those handy little invisibility spells made all the difference.

Once again, our team prevailed and the treasure was found. I can't say any more about it, only that it was really tiny and really ... no, I can't say that or it will give it away. So sorry! All I can say is that it was really precious and really helpful.

The Detectives returned once again to the Winter Witch, only this time they went disguised as Winter Lairds and Ladies from far away Alaska. Who knew there were Lairds and Ladies of Winter in Alaska? Fortunately, they managed to fool the Cailleach Bheur with their clever disguises. While she and her sister were using their wands to created more snow and ice crystals, the Detectives were secretly planting Snow Drops.

I know my Detectives reading this are saying, "But wait! She left out this and this and this!" Yes, I have left out some very important details, like the Salmon of Knowledge and a certain something from the Hazel Grove of the Underworld ... but some secrets must be kept. So I shall end here. I'm happy to report that spring will return this year, thanks to our Detectives.

I'd really like to thank Mathea for her assistance this week! She is one of the older Detectives, who volunteered to help, so she played on my side. She played Nessy and the Winter Queen's sister and she made a really beautiful ice crown with hearts. You can see it along with the other beautiful ice crowns and ice wands on the Facebook page album, Winter Queen Crowns.

Pictures of the toy theaters that the children made may be found here.

Winter Queen Update

Serpent's Eye of Winter
Photo by R L McNulty

February 2 was Imbolc Day, and the weather was sunny and mild. That means the Cailleach went in search of more wood for her fire. Settle in for a long winter ... we're going to need the help of some Dragon's Eye Detectives to end this winter!

There are still four more spaces in "The Winter Queen"--the mystery we're running during February break. This adventure for ages 6 to 12 will be held at the Landing Y in Brunswick.

The story is growing nicely on the yellow pages where new Dragon's Eye stories begin. Who knew that the tale of the queen of winter would lead to yet another serpent dragon, one that is not only a solar serpent, but an Oroborus? I didn't, but as usual am delighted by the discovery of the more ancient roots of this seasonal myth.

It has its origins not in Ireland or Scotland, but in what is today Spain. Which makes me wonder if there's a hidden tie to Egypt. The Cailleach has much in common with Mehen, the Egyptian Oroborus who provides the serpent roads for the solar god to travel through the seasons and the day/night cycle.

Both myths are essentially star myths. The Oroborus is the Yellow Road, the ecliptic along which the sun appears to move in its journey across the heavens. If you think about this path as a serpent swallowing its tail, you begin to understand the otherwise puzzling story tying a serpent to a solar myth.

The myth will certainly provide a delightful tale for our detectives! We'll be encountering Storm Wolves and a magical baby and the Cailleach herself. Better bring winter gear, because the storms will be blowing inside this adventure!

The Winter Queen: Feb Vacation Program, Ages 6 to 12

Dragon's Eye Adventures presents a February vacation program for ages 6 to 12 at the Landing YMCA in Brunswick. The program will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday, Feb. 21-24. We will offer After Hours from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday. Friday, we have a presentation for parents and family at 3:30 p.m.

Our mystery is "The Winter Queen."

The Winter Queen rides the skies on her white wolf, bringing fierce storms everywhere she goes. Can the Detectives find the key that frees her summer prisoner, or will winter’s bite eat away all prospects of spring?

This story is based on Irish and Scottish legends of the Cailleach Bheara and Bridgid. These old stories about the changing seasons make wonderful fireside tales for February, the month we all begin to wonder if winter will ever release her hold on the land.

Our brave Detectives will lend a hand with this year’s struggle between winter and spring. Children will need their winter gear, since we’ll be braving the elements this week!

Our activities will include sparkling Winter Crowns and Bridgid Dolls. If we’re lucky, we’ll have just the right kind of snow for building snow sculptures.

Winter & Spring Vacation with Dragon's Eye

Dragon's Eye Adventures will be offering adventures for February and April break this year. Winter break will feature "The Winter Queen," a Scottish story about the seasons, for ages 6 to 12. The Spring break will offer "Return of the Midnight Cat," an Egyptian-inspired story about a modern day jewel thief, for ages 9 to 16.

Registration for these programs will open on January 1.