Welcome, Little Citizens!

By C.J. Hirschfield

Given Children’s Fairyland’s prime location, whimsical setting and talented professional staff, we get pitched all the time by individuals, companies and all sorts of entities. Sometimes, as when a marijuana dispensary wanted to host a holiday party that included smoking tents, we politely turn down the request, saying it isn’t “Fairylandish,” a word we use to evoke our strong brand, which is authentic, non-cynical, playful and low tech.

But occasionally we’ll be presented with an offer we just can’t refuse, because it is so brilliantly—and obviously—Fairylandish. And that is why, on the first day of August, 20 children ages 3 to 9, from nine countries, will receive their United States citizenship papers onstage in our park.

Pokémon ... STOP?

By C.J. Hirschfield

Last week I learned about two events that at first seemed unrelated but turned out to be connected.  A teenager entered my co-worker’s yard, inadvertently letting her dog out. And at Fairyland, a parent tripped on our yellow brick road while focusing on his smartphone instead of where he was going.

What do these occurrences have in common? Both the teen and the parent were playing Pokémon GO. 

If you were on a remote island last week, you may not know about a craze that's taken over America and 26 European countries: Pokémon GO, an interactive game app for smartphones, was released on July 6. It's an updated version of the original Nintendo console game that debuted in 1996. 

With Pokémon GO, your phone becomes a portal to the Pokémon world, where you can see animated Pokémon in your neighborhood or other public spaces (and also private ones). When you "capture" them, you can then take them to other designated spaces that serve as "gyms," where you can train them to fight other Pokémon for points.

Without our knowledge or approval, the game’s creators designated six Poké stops in Children’s Fairyland: Noah’s Ark, the Humpty Dumpty Wall, Anansi’s Web (our Ferris wheel), a horse in our Old West Junction, the bong tree in the Owl and the Pussycat set, and Tweedledee. A Pokémon gym is located just outside our gates, at Lakeside Park’s bandstand.

Putt 'er Here!

By C.J. Hirschfield

I love reading Funworld Magazine, the official publication of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. It was there that I learned that the enduring game of miniature golf will be celebrating its centennial this year. That’s right: 100 years of windmills, clowns, tubes, ramps, chutes, kitsch and Americana.

You may not know that Fairyland’s original sets, designed in 1950 by architect William Russell Everritt, were widely copied by developers of mini-golf courses in the 1950s and 1960s. Storybook theme parks and mini-golf courses both proliferated in the postwar years, as families sought out affordable places to have fun together.

Filmmaker and mini-golfer Amanda Kulkoski. Favorite course obstacle: the "Pachinko hole."

Amanda Kulkoski fell in love with the sport in the 1980s, when she was growing up. So it wasn’t surprising that her first job in her hometown of Green Bay, Wis., was at the local miniature golf course. She’d sweep the holes, move boulders to alter a course, hand out balls, sell soft-serve ice cream and clean the bathrooms.

“I loved to play – still do,” she says.

My Little Library

I always respond personally to the customer complaints we receive at Fairyland. We learn a lot from our guests, and we often translate their suggestions into reality.

But a note we received last week included a slew of complaints, one of which really touched a nerve. I reproduce it here verbatim:

“You should have a really cool candy shop where the library is who wants to read a book in Fairyland.”

The guest was referring to our reading room, lovingly curated by Oakland public librarians. It’s a sweet, quiet space where a kid can sit on an adult’s lap or on a giant stuffed bear and enjoy the pleasures of books and reading.

The Children’s Fairyland Reading Room offers kids and parents a chance to relax and enjoy books.