The 2026 Manchester Fairy Garden Contest winners and map

submitted by Laura Wohlgemuth, Manchester District Library event coordinator

With so many lovely fairy gardens on display, the judges had quite the time picking their favorites in the 2026 Manchester Fairy Garden Contest. This year’s entries were filled with fresh ideas, creative details, and plenty of fairy magic. The judges were especially excited to see so many new ideas they had never seen before!

Sisters Aurora and Remi were chosen as third place winners for their charming little fairy houses made of wood, complete with twinkling fairy lights. Each third place winner received a $10 gift certificate to Worth Repeating.

Second place was awarded to MECC 2026 Summer KC for their innovative fairy vegetable garden. The judges shared that this was the first time they had ever seen a vegetable garden entered in the contest, and they loved the creativity behind it. Second place was also awarded to Lilly Coe for her whimsical tiered fairy garden, complete with jewels, succulents, and a touch of fairy-tale charm. Each second place winner received a $15 gift certificate to Worth Repeating.

Sadie’s “Sharing is Caring” fairy garden at 504 E. Main St. won the hearts of the judges when they saw that she had created a welcoming home not only for fairies, but also for gnomes and other woodland creatures.  The Birdwatcher fairy garden on display at the Manchester District Library also wowed the judges with its creativity, effort, and one-of-a-kind details. These first place winners each received a $25 gift certificate to Worth Repeating.

A big thank you “fairy” much to Worth Repeating for donating $100 worth of gift certificates to help award this year’s winners with such wonderful prizes. Congratulations to all of the winners and to everyone who helped make Manchester a little more magical this fairy season!

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.