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