Ron Zeno Day

By C.J. Hirschfield

I’ve written before about longtime Fairyland friend Ron Zeno, who died in June. Ron was Fairyland’s beloved Santa for nearly two decades, as well as a Fairyland board member, a puppet-show voice artist and a regular reader at our Friday Toddler Storytime sessions.

Now I’m pleased to announce that Friday, Dec. 1, has been proclaimed “Ron Zeno Day” by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. We’ll be honoring Ron’s memory at Fairyland that day in several ways.

Ron Zeno reading "Please, Baby, Please" at Toddler Storytime.

The Voice of Love

By C.J. Hirschfield

In the 15 years that I’ve run Children’s Fairyland, we’ve presented more than 100 puppet shows. My absolute favorite is “Puff the Magic Dragon,” which we premiered last year in honor of our Storybook Puppet Theater’s 60^th anniversary.

Casting the voices to be recorded for the show was not easy. Although Puff is not the main character – he doesn’t cause things to happen; he merely advises and guides – his voice was critical. It had to be a voice that was warm and soothing yet conveyed enough credibility and love so that you really wanted to listen to and believe in him.

It was abundantly clear to Fairyland puppet master Randal Metz whose voice it had to be. Ron Zeno, Fairyland’s Santa for two decades, was the only person he ever considered for the role.