For the fifth year, the Domestic Violence Center of Santa Clarita Valley hosted it’s annual Fairy Festival, bringing joy to a topic that many people are reluctant to discuss, especially with children.

The event drew dozens of children to the SAVIA center on Newhall Ave., where they decorated wooden houses, called fairy shelters, with an assortment of beads, feathers and glitter.

The children could also dress up and take photos in a photo booth and get their faces painted at the event. All attendees were treated to a pancake breakfast.

“This all started [when] our executive director came here about five years ago,” Alexandra Hospodar, the executive assistant at the DVC, said. “She really wanted to bring joy to the center because domestic violence isn’t something people really want to talk about. And she thought ‘why don’t we have a fun family event, where everybody can come and kind of see it in a different light.’”

She said the purpose of the Fairy Festival is to teach younger children in a way that helps them in the future.

“The whole concept is building a shelter for our shelter and getting people to talk about it in a different light,” Hospodar said.  “We’ve had it at past events where kids come up and go ‘this is where Mommy and Daddy go when they’re mad at each other.’”

She said over the past several years she has worked at this event, it has helped move forward the conversation about domestic abuse in the Santa Clarita Valley.

“It’s making people aware of domestic violence, and making it not this taboo thing,” said Hospodar. “So you can talk about it and know what’s normal, what’s not normal, what’s healthy and what isn’t healthy. And also have a little fun with it.”

Hospodar added the children get the most out of the event, even if they don’t realize it.

“Whether or not they fully grasp it now, we’re just introducing them to [the concept],” she said.

She said she believes learning about domestic violence, and how to identify it at a young age is instrumental in raising children into aware adults.

I think it’s really important to bring up these issues at an early age,” Hospodar said. “That’s because this is prime development time for children, when they’re starting to develop their character traits that they’re going to bring with them into adulthood.”

She said the parents need to teach their children to recognize the signs, and speak out when they see them.

“it’s important for families and parents to talk about these issues so that if something were to happen there would already be an open door to talk about it,” Hospodar said. “Or maybe they learn this and can say ‘this isn’t healthy.’ So they can easily identify the situations when they’re older.”