Many former industrial centers are suffering in this economy. Places like Detroit and Flint, Michigan are searching to redefine themselves with the exporting of jobs and Moneygeddonâ„¢ decimating their industrial base. Many towns and cities are pursuing tourist dollars to revive their economies. So they host some sort of food festival, state fair, or a seasonal celebration. Our favorite perfumer, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, has recently went into partnership with one of these towns and their famous winter festival. So on Needcoffee, we thought we would feature this celebration. Yes, we’re talking about Innsmouth, Massachusetts and the Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire.
[ad#longpost]Now you must realize that the faire is not your conventional Christmas festival. Why would you drive out in the cold and snow for more of the same reindeer and snowmen and the rest of the commercial standards? We, of course, would never involve ourselves in something so mundane and Black Phoenix is known for their interest in all things eldritch. This festival’s uniqueness has been the main source of Innsmouth’s recovery. Unlike other New England towns who have been unable to come back after the downturns in fishing and shipping, Innsmouth has used its fascinating local culture to revive its fortunes. Even with the demolition of a good deal of the town during a bootlegging crackdown in 1928, much of the historical charm remains to entice tourists and antiquarians alike. The Yuletide Faire celebrates this history with a month long bacchanal. Here’s an except from the press release describing the start of the festival:
Many of the fragrances that Black Phoenix designed are based on the many and sundry aspects of the Faire. A major emphasis is on the food. The Yule Goat, manned as always by the timeless Mother Shub, is a fine provider of sweet things to eat, has several perfumes devoted to her wares. There is Mother Shub’s Spiced Lait de Chèvre: a delightful mix of goat’s milk, coffee, and spices; Mother Shub’s Pfancy Pfefferneusse: those little powder sugar covered cookies mixed with almonds, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and Mother Shub’s Toothsome Banketstaaf: almond cookies oozing with apricot jam and a cherry on top.
There is plenty of entertainment to entrance guests. The Servitor Flautists, a group inspired by equal parts Gwar, Arnold Schoenberg, and chaos theory, is performing their atonal melodies all month from their Christmas CD, The Smilin’ Servitors’ Hyperdimensional Holiday Hits. The scent inspired by the band is at once bright and piercing though one’s mind but also heavy and lulling one into a dream filled sleep, much like the band’s music.
The culmination of the Faire is a performance that depicts the events that started it all. Again, from the official press release…
Again, Black Phoenix captures the spirit with dark aquatic and mossy notes to represent the Fungi From Yuggoth, dark incense to represent the mystical nature of the event, and a sharp tang to show the true essence of the great Nyarlathotep.
I can’t go through all the sights and sounds that will be happening in Innsmouth during the holiday season. So if you can’t make it down the Miskatonic River (or Manuxet River, the geography is a little confusing), Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab can give you all the smells through its Miskatonic Valley Yuletide Faire line. But if you can attend the Faire, it’s an experience that will change you. It will haunt your dreams for years afterward. You will never forget it. Ever.
I have Black Temple Burlesque Troupe from this line, it’s sooo dark and good. If I were employed, I’d buy so many more of these.
Oh.
My.
Dog.
How do I get to this Faire? Someone give me money so I can afford the time off to go. Please.
-M
LOL.
You cannot get to this faire. At least, not on this side of Hell. There is no such earthly place as Innsmouth Massachusetts; it is the invention of H.P. Lovecraft.
What are you talking about? I stopped by there on my way to Derry, Maine just last summer…