there were no celebrations, parades, or commencements the day first elijah mcphearson was born. he was a regular guy born to a long line of fishers, most of whom lived right here in rose cove. luck had never truly been on any of the mchpearsons’ side, which anyone could tell from the meager means they always lived. they belonged to the part of the town who preferred the easy life, not giving too much thought to the other half who flaunted opulence at their fancy parties. elijah cared, though. he spent most of his youth watching them, wishing and wanting in silence and the darkness of his bedroom at first, but eventually griping and cursing them under his breath when he bore witness to their upper class lifestyles.
in all honesty, we wouldn’t be here talking about elijah if he had followed the path that was laid out for him, but that wasn’t in his cards. instead of following in his family’s footsteps, he often catered events for the prosperous side of town. he wasn’t as an avid a fisher as the rest of his family, and as such he found himself picking up odd jobs to make ends meet. he grew a reputation for his hard work ethic, and eventually he came to know the members of their society, and their families, on a rather close basis. that much is all well known, but it’s the next part that seems fuzzy in comparison. somehow he went from the town noone to local hero overnight. some people say he rescued a group of children from drowning. others say he used wild horses to transport them away from a fire. there are even a few accounts of him using a small fishing vessel to save a capsized boat in a storm. with every rendition, the tale seemed to grow more fanatical.
regardless of the truth, the rest of the story remains. his heroism launched him directly into the life he wanted so desperately. he moved into one of the richest neighborhoods, began attending the finest parties, and for two decades he enjoyed the decadence he sought in his youth. he married a beautiful woman, had children, and to the outside world, he seemed to live the dream most people spent theirs trying to attain. but with all things in rose cove, things were not exactly as they seemed. no one thought to question it until the day elijah met an untimely end. an air of mystery surrounds his death still to this day, much like the one that surrounds the recent disappearance of shannon harper. he was found floating in the water just off the north south of town, and his death was ruled accidental. in fact, no investigation was ever opened, but that only feeds into to the way the locals love making up their own versions of elijah mcphearson’s life. to commemorate his life and the act of bravery he committed, the town chose to honor him in a festival that highlighted the best parts of their small town. he became the beacon of what it meant to truly call rose cove home.
this year’s mchpearson day festival is the 75th anniversary of the very first one. the town’s pride and joy event, people travel from all over to come and kick off summer with a week long event. because it is the crown jewel of entertainment in the ares, the utter tragedy of last year’s festival holds the town the town in a vice like vigor to set things right. there is a tension, an urgency of perfection floating in on the morning waves, but not receding when the sun dips back below the horizon. everyone in town knows they must get this one right, or else suffer another year of empty shops and lacking tourists filling their rental homes. everyone needs this to flourish.
as always, there will be a plethora of activities for natives and newcomers to enjoy. local entrepreneurs fill booths that line every square inch of the town square, where you’ll find everything from art fixtures to decorate your homes to homemade sauces, jams, and vegetables to fill your cabinets. down by the boardwalk you will find an array of rides such as a ferris wheel, giant swings, a carousel, and many other carnival attractions. food vendors will line the beachfront parking, where you can stop through poppa wheelie’s for your snack favorites, sippin’ away for a caffeinated pick-me-up, or indulge in typical fair refreshments like cotton candy, corn dogs, freshly squeezed lemonade, and funnel cakes. take the kids back into the town square for face painting, and if you’re lucky no one will laugh if you choose to get a butterfly of your own done.
all of these amenities will be available to the public starting saturday with the annual racing of the horses at sunrise on saturday morning, and it will conclude the following saturday night with the crowning of a new miss roses. because our crowned queen of 2021 cannot be there to present the winner, her alternate, virginia smyth will do the honors. they will be escorted by reid kent, and following the coronation ceremony will be a memorial video played in honor of shannon.
*** hello, and with this plot drop undone fm is open for interactions. muses are now allowed to have interactions up until friday in game. while the interactions do not have to be centered around the festival, this is an event that will affect everyone in town in some way or another. it would be a bad look for someone to not show up at the festival after the newspaper revealed law enforcement is looking into the case again, so keep that in mind. this event will take place AT LEAST one week in real time, but we may adjust that due to player wishes.
