The Mystery of the Lakeside Dome

By C.J. Hirschfield

Last week I came across the script that was used when Fairyland’s train used to roll through Lakeside Park. “The Lakeside Lark is now leaving from the gates of Fairyland on our magic track. Please sit back and relax. We hope you enjoy the trip,” it began. And later: “If you look off to your right, the geodesic dome stands. It was completed in 1957, the first to be installed in the States.”

The geodesic dome in Lakeside Park.

  

The 36-by-28-foot dome still stands, adjacent to the Rotary Nature Center, although it is empty and sad-looking, and its purpose is unclear.  As I started to learn more about the imposing structure, I discovered that a number of other things about it are unclear as well. 

For example:

The Dragon Roars Back

By C.J. Hirschfield

Topiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants by clipping foliage to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, usually geometric or fanciful. European topiary dates back to Roman times.

Walt Disney – who by now you must know was heavily influenced by Children’s Fairyland – helped bring the American portable style of topiary into being around 1962, when he used steel-wire frames through which plants extended as they grew. He re-created his cartoon characters as landscape shrubbery throughout Disneyland.

Fairyland got into the topiary game in 1999. The New York Times noted our achievement with this headline: “Dusting Off an Enchanted Land and Adding Some Dragons.” 

Behold the dragon's newly trimmed face!

Very Fairy Hair

By C.J. Hirschfield

A couple of weeks ago, six Children’s Fairyland employees chose to have sparkly metallic strands attached to their own hair. I was one of them. And we’re not alone. Others (mostly women) who have chosen to have beautifully colored,  iridescent  strands woven into their tresses include members of  Flex Gym on Piedmont Ave., partygoers in Marin, and regular patrons of an East Bay beauty salon.

Very Fairy Events was in town twice recently, for Fairyland’s Member Appreciation Day, in late August, and our adults-only Drawn Together arts event, in late September. At those events we typically offer such delights as face painting, hair chalking and henna “tattoos.” Lately, though, we’ve noticed that the fairy hair strands are really catching on.

Manda Stretch, co-owner of “Very Fairy Events,” at a Bay Area festival

Tutta la Famiglia!

By C.J. Hirschfield

For many decades, the Lake Merritt Breakfast Club has taken its annual Italian Day celebration seriously. But at last week’s party, the club, which meets every Thursday morning at 7 a.m. and supports Children’s Fairyland and the lake’s Necklace of Lights, really outdid itself.

The guest speaker was Lorenzo Ortona, who had become Italy’s consul general in San Francisco and the northwest United States only two weeks earlier. It turned out to be an Italian-American love fest, made even more magical because of a “six degrees” story that links the new consul general to Children’s Fairyland and to a special event at the park that will take place this week.

The consul general arrived at LMBC to find a big crowd in a room resplendent with green and red balloons. Frittata and biscotti were served, and shots of amaretto were offered to enhance the coffee. Local realtor Paul Valva sported a T-shirt that read “Life’s too short not to be Italian.” Raffle baskets contained pasta, sauce and wine. Before receiving their baskets, winners had to speak a word of Italian. “Gina Lollobrigida” was judged acceptable.  

C.J. Hirschfield (far left), Lorenzo Ortona (center, in gray suit), and members of the LMBC.

And who better to arrange this love fest than local caterer and LMBC Vice President Mike Miraglia, an Italian-American who describes himself as “a full-blooded Calabrese”? Asked what it is about Italians that makes them so special, Mike replied: “Our heritage, our food, our faith, fun—and, most importantly, our family.”

Which brings me to the Fairyland connection.

Getting "Realia" About Kids and Science

By C.J. Hirschfield

No, that isn’t a typo in the headline. “Realia” is a real word that means “objects and material from everyday life, especially when used as teaching aids.”

Well, Fairyland has realia in spades, and we love to share it. Case in point: beginning Oct. 11, first-graders from six underserved Oakland schools and 18 classrooms will get to see, smell and touch plants as part of our “Science Alive” program, designed to get them excited about biology.

Making a Splash at Fairyland

By C.J. Hirschfield

I’ve written before about the concept of Theatre for the Very Young, but I’d never actually experienced it myself before last week.

On paper it looked very exciting—enough so that Children’s Fairyland didn’t hesitate to partner with Nina Meehan and her Bay Area Children’s Theatre to offer this Bay Area first.

TVY is generally defined as professional theater led by adults performing for an audience of months-old babies to toddlers who are accompanied by parents or adult companions. Shows typically last about 40 minutes and are held in quiet, enclosed spaces without seats.

England, Sweden, Australia and Scotland embrace the concept. Here in the U.S., Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, and Seattle have taken the lead.

Fairyland seemed to be the perfect site for this special theatrical performance. We understand completely that unlocking imaginations at a very young age and exploring early language enhances opportunities to learn. And if a child is pre-verbal? No problem. Kids still want to be amazed and engaged and to explore their world. And since we’ve been in the memory-making business for 66 years now, we also knew that this intimate experience would encourage adults to connect with kids. 

Which is how I found myself sitting on a pillow with 35 other people in a newly installed yurt-like performance space at Fairyland on a beautiful Saturday morning – at a sold-out show, I might add!

Actors Jamella Cross and Andrew Mondello. Photo by Nina Meehan.

The show is called “Splish Splash,” and here’s the description: “From the familiar world of bath time and rubber duckies to sailing on the ocean and spotting fantastic fish, this interactive theater experience invites munchkins to explore the wonders of water and discover what this precious resource means to us.”

The journey of a drop of water from bath time to pipes, from the ocean to the clouds, and back to earth as rain was led by three talented professional actors: Andrew Mondello and Jamilla Cross (both of whom starred in our hit production of “Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site”) and Kate Brennan.

Fairyland’s theater director, Doyle Ott, could not be more pleased with the production’s premiere. “When I watched the kids’ reactions to the performance,” he told me, “it reminded me of how alive the world is to a small child.”

I myself saw kids’ eyes widen as they saw huge, brightly colored fish “swim” by them. Many were inspired to pet, kiss or hug them. I observed toddlers lying on their backs to hear a story about cloud shapes. There were singalongs, a little tap dancing and opportunities  to play musical pipes, launch a rubber ducky into water and pretend to swim in the ocean. With TVY, getting into the act is encouraged; parents don’t have to worry about their child’s random explorations.

I admit that I was sneaking peeks at the families while the show was going on. Many kids started out in laps and later were moved to throw themselves into the activity of the moment. Parents were guiding, hugging and smiling.  Doyle’s hope is that the production might inspire parents to explore new ways to play with their kids.

We love the fact that for many of these kids, “Splish Splash” represents their first exposure to live performing arts. When they grow up, they’ll no doubt learn to sit quietly and applaud at the right places. But until then, TVY celebrates the fact that they can react in any way that works for them, and it’s better than OK.

Doyle, who is also an actor and a college professor, has participated in hundreds of theatrical productions. But this is no doubt the first show in which he has to clean certain items with antibacterial wipes after each performance. That’s just how we roll with Theatre for the Very Young.

Splish Splash runs at Children’s Fairyland Fridays through Sundays through Nov. 20. For more information and tickets, go to the Bay Area Children's Theatre website.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 14 years as executive director of Children’s Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation the nation’s first storybook theme park.

Drawing Together

By C.J. Hirschfield

At Children’s Fairyland, we love artists and we love teachers. Oaklander Clare Szydlowski is both, and for the fourth consecutive year, she’ll be participating in our adults-only DrawnTogether event on Sept. 30.

That evening, Clare will be one of 50 local artists who will create Fairyland-inspired pieces as admiring guests look on. At the end of the evening, the art works will be sold for a flat $40 per piece; the proceeds will benefit our park and its programs for underserved kids.

Although the wine, music, tarot readings and fairy hair weaving are fun, it’s the opportunity to engage with talented artists that has made this such a popular event. Speaking from three years of experience, Clare says the feeling is mutual.