Family Shares First Fruits

By C.J. Hirschfield

“I adore them,” says Patricia Hall of her 9- and 5-year-old granddaughters,  Nia and Nylah, who live in Piedmont. An internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and NYU professor, Pat visits her “grands,” as she calls them, twice a year from her home in New York, and Children’s Fairyland is always on their itinerary.

“Sometimes we go every day,” she says. “It’s just a wonderful place to learn, explore, and most important—to have fun.”

Last year she and Nia and Nylah visited us during our Fairy Winterland holiday celebration. In our Reading Room, they saw our exhibits explaining Diwali, Chanukah and Kwanzaa. Pat was very pleased that we’d acknowledged Kwanzaa, but, she said diplomatically, “I thought it could be more.”

She approached a member of our team and offered to create a display for the 2016 holiday. Needless to say, we happily accepted her offer.  

Book Us for the Holidays

By C.J. Hirschfield

You’ve seen them at local bookstores, popular public attractions, even at hardware stores: those sepia-colored, photo-rich paperbacks that feature hometown history and the people, places and events that celebrate elements that define a community.

They’re the work of Arcadia Publishing, a 20-year-old company that has found a winning formula in a very crowded and competitive bookselling space. As of Dec. 5, one of Arcadia’s newest Images of America books is Children’s Fairyland. The author is Randal J. Metz, who is the director of our Storybook Puppet Theater – and who has worked for Fairyland for 47 of our 66 years. 

Proud author Randal Metz in our gift shop with the new book about Fairyland.

The pre-holiday timing of the publication is no coincidence. After making 66 years of memories, we think our new book is the perfect present for anyone who’s grown up in Oakland — wherever they now call home.

Toddler Storytime

By C.J. Hirschfield

A few weeks ago, Fairyland completed a two-day training session for eight new volunteer readers for our popular Toddler Storytime. Four librarians, three teachers, and a professional children’s performer made it through the intensive workshop.

They’re an outstanding group, and we can’t wait for them to share what they’ve learned with our appreciative young crowds, who gather on our Emerald City stage every Friday at 10:30 and 3. The before- and after-nap crowds, as we like to say.

Fairyland's newest Toddler Storytime storytellers. Back row: Shana Barchas, second from left; Angela Moffett, third from left.