Park Profile
www.parkworld-online.com
Children’s Fairyland California time warp
Alongside Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, through the arched doorway of the giant shoe lies Children’s Fairyland. When the 10-acre, storybook-themed park
opened in 1950, Walt Disney visited, and it apparently helped inspire him to create Disneyland. It feels as if it’s remained in a time warp ever since, writes Paul Ruben
Animal
interaction Animals have been an important part of Children’s Fairyland since the park opened in 1950. Today, more than 18 domestic animals live in the park including Dori the Shetland Pony, Juan the alpaca, goats Tina and Mr Bean, donkeys Gideon and Tumbleweed Tommy, Smokey and Mini the rabbits, Puddles and Buddy the ducks, sheep, two guinea pigs and three chickens. On weekends, kids can get close with the animal of the day and learn tips from an experienced animal handler.
O
wned by the city of Oakland and operated by a non-profit organisation, Children's Fairyland features classic tales told with the use of 30 exhibits and sets, rides, a theatre and more. The goal is to stimulate the imaginations of young children. As a result, it is deliberately low-tech. For example, there's an elf statue blowing bubbles from atop a red and white mushroom and Little Miss Muffet frightened by a spider in her garden. There are real animals too, such as sheep in the corral of the Mary Had a Little Lamb set and bunnies in Peter Rabbit Village. Little visitors can activate a box by buying a key containing a recorded narrative related to each scene. Puppeteer Randal Metz invited Park World backstage to watch him and an assistant perform The Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings. The show was a charming African tale about the hazards of wishing to be something you're not. It was one of many fairytales
presented three times daily in the outdoor Puppet Theatre. The five-decade-old performance space is the
park’s most popular attraction, according to C.J Hirschfield, Children’s Fairyland’s executive director of. “It’s the longest continually operating puppet theatres in the country [as pictured] and features a new show every six weeks, based on classic tales from around the world,” she explains. “For generations of kids in our region, the theatre represents their first exposure to live performing arts.”
Breakfast Club beginnings Adventurous spaces to discover include the Old West Junction. Fashioned like a Western film set, it has a faux stable, bank and jail for kids to explore. Scaled- down rides offer thrills for small children, including the Wonder-Go-Round carousel, Magic Web kiddie Ferris Wheel, Flecto Carousel and the Jolly Trolly Train.
Gift Shop 58
Jolly Trolly
Alice in Children’s Fairyland NOVEMBER 2012
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