Maeve Bauer, Executive Editor
What do a wizard, a priest, a jester, a knight and a beast all have in common? They are all members of the Monroe Wizard’s “Wizard Wednesday.” Once a week this group of adventurers gather together in Monroe Park to go out on quests throughout VCU’s campus.
Gavin Paisley is a third-year VCU mechanical engineering student, but on Wednesdays he practices sorcery. Paisley started Wizard Wednesdays around two years ago, or as he put it, “many an eon ago,” after noticing a lack of magic on campus.
“One day I was in my tower, looking upon the people of Monroe,” Paisley said. “And I saw upon their eyes, a lack of joy, a lack of whimsy.”
Paisley started his mission alone, but eventually gathered a group of like-minded individuals who shared his passion for spreading joy and whimsy to students and other passerbys in the park.
Beyond Paisley’s crew, there are people who join in each week to help accomplish quests. Community member, Jessica Dekovitch, has assisted Monroe’s mythical mob for the past three weeks and is beginning to brainstorm character ideas for herself.
While exiting their last class of the evening, Crow Stephens, a first-year at VCU, saw the adventurous group exploring the campus grounds and decided to join in.
“I was leaving my math class and the wizard quest happened to be right outside and someone was like ‘Come with us, come with us,’ so I went along and it was really fun,” Stephens said.
The Quest
On Sept. 23 the crew gathered as they usually do in Monroe Park to embark on a special quest. This week, the Monroe Wizard and his trusty team were tasked with freeing the jester from the clutches of the ravenous Beastman.
With sights set to defeat the Beastman, the group set out to rescue their funny friend. First, they headed to the compass, where they ran into a Goblin.
The Goblin asked a riddle, which if answered correctly, would point everyone in the right direction.
“What is something that can be long, but short? And can be soft and hard? And it can go inside of hole but it sits perfectly still between your bosom?” asked the Goblin.
The group discussed and landed on “necklace” as the answer. The Goblin shared that they saw the Beastman take the jester past the “big horns.”
The gang then embarked on a journey past the compass all the way to the courtyard between Oliver Hall and the Eugene P. and Lois T. Trani Center of Life Sciences. The group’s priest, Father Tickle, known on every other day of the week as Jones Lee, a senior at Freeman High School. had a personal attachment to this mission, having known the captured jester for many years. The two even joined the wizard’s troupe together.
“Guys, I am so scared for my friend, the jester,” exclaimed Lee to the group. “He is a great guy and I really worry about him. He is great fun. Great fun. You know, I’m cooped up in the monastery like 9 months out of the year, but [the jester] come to visit.”
Lee has been taking part in Wizard Wednesday for the past few weeks, but has collaborated with Paisley on creative projects for a couple years, according to Paisley. Though he and the wizard disagree from a theological standpoint, with Father Tickle being a man of God and the Monroe wizard being a man of magic, they bond over their shared joy of adventure.
“I think that is what Wizard Wednesday is all about,” Lee said. “It is about adventurers coming together no matter who you are and just finding a home where you can adventure and meet people like you and have a great old time.”
As the group approached the Beastman and his comical captive, the father encouraged everyone to negotiate with the beast before resorting to violence.
“We have to be civil,” Lee said. “He’s a civil Beastman. Don’t you say he’s more man than beast?”
However, upon arrival, the Beastman challenged the rescuers to a duel, asking that one member of the small army battle him.
The challenge was accepted by Charlotte Sutton, a first-year VCU clinical psychology student and an eternal nightwalker. She went head to head with the furious Beastman. The wizard laid out the rules and instructed the warriors to walk 10 passes from one another, turn and charge.
Sutton attended two other Wizard Wednesdays prior to Sept. 23. She credits the gloomy weather for giving her the strength to duel.
“The sun isn’t out,” Sutton said. “It’s been drizzling. I like the weather.”
After some back and forth, Sutton took control and defeated the Beastman. The crowd cheered, and the Monroe Jester was freed.
The quest ended with a reward for all adventurers, a canister of almonds and three cheers for comradery.
If you are interested in joining the Monroe Wizard and his troupe on their next adventure go to @monroe_wizard on Instagram.