We Love Fairyland

We had a great time at the Oakland Children's Fairyland's 17th annual gala and dinner.

Don't know about Fairyland? It's this incredible children's theme park nestled up next to Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA. It's been there since 1948, and it's rumored to have been a major inspiration for Walt Disney's theme parks. The rides and the art that went into creating its storybook themed environment are incredibly cute and inventive, and it's still going strong. Generations of San Francisco Bay Area kids have had good times there! Walking through, you can feel all the happy that's happened in this special place.

Normally, you can't enter Fairyland without a child in tow, and not having any, we were lucky to be able to get in for a rare look around once years ago when our good friends Dave and Simone rented it out for their wedding. It was a spectacular party in a magical atmosphere, and I've loved Fairyland ever since and have just been *waiting* for the chance to go back. Fairyland occasionally holds evening parties for adults, but they're so popular that tickets sell out instantly!

The gala was attended by over 500 guests, most in costume, and catered by dozens of incredible local restaurants. There was fantastic music, dancing, and we ran into a bunch of old friends, not all of whom had met before. They each have their own totally cool projects and interests, so we were excited to make introductions and I'm hoping many fruitful collaborations result. All around, a fantastic evening.

Here's a photo of John and I with our friends Steve and Gabrielle of The Crucible.  John & I are on the right. We were happy to have the chance to wear costumes again that we made for Venice Carnival 2012. I made the hats, of course! (Spectacular yellow linen 18th century-style corset by Dark Garden.)

Photo by Richard Haick

Want to see more photos of the gala? Click here.

The Crucible's 7th Annual Fire & Light: Soirée and Art Auction

Starting to work on a special, one-of-a-kind hat to donate for The Crucible's 7th Annual Fire & Light: Soirée and Art Auction. I'm delighted to help support this amazing arts organization.

From their website:

The Crucible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts education organization that fosters a collaboration of arts, industry, and community.  Through training in the fine and industrial arts, The Crucible promotes creative expression, reuse of materials, and innovative design, while serving as an accessible arts venue for the general public in the Bay Area. Known for one-of-a-kind industrial arts education programs, The Crucible is also highly regarded for its innovative performances.

From metal fabrication, blacksmithing, neon, glass blowing, ceramics, welding, kinetics, and fire dancing, The Crucible provides cutting-edge arts education programs to 5,000 adult and youth students annually.  Our instructors have extensive experience and a passion for what they teach.  Our industrial art classes are designed to attract novices as well as experienced artists and craftspeople to a noncompetitive environment where people with diverse interests and backgrounds can work together and learn from one another.

 For more information about classes and events at The Crucible, see their website.