Heartstrings: Remembering Larry Schmidt, Master Puppeteer

By C.J. Hirschfield

Commercialization and gore are key components of American Halloween these days. But one Oakland artist was committed to providing an alternative experience: a free, site-specific, Halloween-themed, family-friendly marionette show in the driveway of his family’s triplex in the Glenview District.

Larry Schmidt’s whimsical “Driveway Follies” has delighted many thousands of people over the last 11 years, and, I’m proud to say, has employed the talents of at least eight Children’s Fairyland puppeteers. We are all mourning Larry, a kind and generous soul who died at 66, of cancer, on January 18.

Larry Schmidt, founder of Driveway Follies. Photo by Rick Paulas.

Food for Thought

By C.J. Hirschfield

Over the course of a week, two Fairyland staffers attended two very different food events.

One was work related: Café manager Amber Swanson perused the annual Winter Fancy Food Show held in San Francisco, where we scout for new and healthy options for our café.

The other event—thankfully—was not work related: Our communications manager, Nancy Friedman, journeyed to Los Angeles for the Disgusting Food Museum exhibition.

Where do these worlds meet? Possibly in a product we’re considering for sale in our gift shop.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.