Making magic: Paseo Arts District plans enchanted evening with annual Fairy Ball With flowers in their hair and ribbon-wrapped wands in their hands, fairies flocked and frolicked under the festive lights and twilight stars above the Crown Jewel Amphitheater.

Young girls run through the trees during the 2016 Paseo Fairy Ball in the Crown Jewel Amphitheater at First Christian Church in Oklahoma City. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman Archives

A young girl's fairy wings light up from spotlights during the 2016 Paseo Fairy Ball in the Crown Jewel Amphitheater at First Christian Church in Oklahoma City. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman Archives

“What is enchanting to me about the amphitheater is that it feels old and still alive with the music and dance of past times, since the 1950s when it was created and built there. The charm is in those reverberations, and it feels like there are little fairies peeking out of the forest … that come every evening to dance on that stage anyway. So, we’re just going to join them,” said Lorrie Keller, founder and creative director of Theatre Upon a StarDanceSwan.

The nonprofit dance company is again inviting children and families to step into a summer evening and make a little magic Saturday at its 16th annual Fairy Ball, an outdoor event that annually draws hundreds of youngsters. For the second year, the venerable Paseo Arts District tradition is dancing into the restored historic amphitheater tucked among the trees on the grounds of the nearby First Christian Church, 3700 N Walker Ave.

“It’s kind of grown from being here on the street in a field to a place where we needed to have a little bit better setup,” said Amanda Bleakley, executive director of the Paseo Arts Association, which sponsors the Fairy Ball. “Instead of having extension cords running across, we have a nice professional stage and seating. I think it works really well over there.”

Keller said the new setting also will allow organizers to experiment with a new enchantment for the all-ages ball: a fairy parade.