Long before there were stunning ornamental gardens or “real” buildings, one of the first projects at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, was the Fairy House Village beside the Shoreland Trail.

Volunteers designated waterfront real estate for the forest dwellers, and children have been creating tiny structures in that space ever since. As the kids see it, forest fairies, elves, sprites, gnomes, and other creatures of the forest appreciate young humans’ efforts to design and build structures for them that are as practical as they are fanciful.

This year, a full-scale construction project took the shorefront Fairy House Village to a new level, with enchanting stone structures and other imaginative improvements. Gardens guests curious to know what’s going on will delight in the end result, and all visitors are invited to an opening celebration at the newly reimagined Fairy House Village on Saturday, Aug. 24. The ribbon cutting will be at 10:30 a.m. There is no additional charge to attend.

“We know that many children who visit us believe wholeheartedly that here at the Gardens we coexist happily with the fairy realm,” said Executive Director Bill Cullina. “The new Fairy House Village has a sense of the magical and mystical that will reinforce those believes and will surely make it a favorite stop for kids, before or after they explore the Children’s Garden. The imagination and creative work of our visitors will add the finishing touches.”

Of all the submissions received, the Gardens selected the design proposed by Joe Norton, who owns Norton Stone & Tile in Boothbay. He grew up near the Gardens and has always felt that the woods where the Fairy House Village is located have a magical quality.

“It doesn’t take a giant leap of the imagination to wonder if fairies really do live here,” he writes in his submission. “I approached the design as if there had once been a kingdom here, now forgotten, whose ruins are home to fairies and other magic.”

The new Fairy House Village will attract Gardens guests of all ages. Whenever they visit, they can stop by to experience this wondrous spot anew and admire the fairy houses. Or, better yet, they can create their own.

To learn more about Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, visit www.mainegardens.org; call 207-633-4333, ext. 101; or stop by the Gardens, located off Barters Island Road in Boothbay.