Jack-O-Lantern Jamboree This Weekend At Children's Fairyland

Young children and their families will find Halloween more delightful than frightful at Children’s Fairyland in Oakland this weekend.

The six-decade-old theme park is a Bay Area treasure that has provided family entertainment for generations. Once again it will turn down the fear factor to offer little ones a safe, not-too-scary setting for parading in their Halloween costumes and celebrating the holiday during its Annual Jack-O-Lantern Jamboree.

Admission into the park for those age 1 through 100 will be $10 per person Saturday and Sunday. Guests with a Fairyland Membership pay only $5 each. Hours of operation this weekend will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. No coupons or passes will be accepted.

Be aware, for safety reasons, Fairyland admits adults only when they’re accompanied by children and children only when they’re accompanied by adults. (This is Fairyland’s oldest rule, instituted in 1950.)

Once in the park, guests will have access this weekend to unlimited rides, parades, two jump houses, a pirate school, balloon twisting demonstrations, clowns, magicians and costumed fairytale characters.

While supplies last, there will be goody bags, treat stations and arts and crafts for youngsters.

There will also be special presentations by the park’s Children’s Theater Program  and Storybook Puppet Theater.  

Storybook Puppet Theater Director, Randal Metz, will be presenting the finale performances of Beauty and the Beast.

The puppets and the Beauty and the Beast show itself were designed by Sheilah Beckell, now 98 years-old who wrote many Children’s Little Golden Books . Costumes for the production’s puppets were designed by Frances Oznowicz, the mother of Frank Oz,  creator of the Muppets.

New Book Available On History of Fairyland Just Released

Storybook Puppet Theater Director, Randal Metz has been chronicling the theme park's history for many years. He is a native of San Leandro and current Marina neighborhood resident but much of his waking life has been spent on the 10 acre Fairyland site on the shore of Oakland's Lake Merritt.  

At age 10 Metz won an audition to become a Fairyland Personality.  He spent the next year portraying the Mad Hatter at the park and stayed.

Although still in elementary school, Metz was taken under the wing of master puppeteer Lewish Mahlmann, the creator of Fairyland’s Storybook Puppet Theatre.  During his apprenticeship he learned every aspect of puppeteering from constructing puppets, to writing scripts and designing sets.

Later Metz studied with Muppets head writer Jerry Juhl and Disneyland window designer Bob Baker.  Before taking over the directorship of the theater, Metz served as Fairyland’s artistic director.

Today, the Fairyland Storybook Puppet Theater is distinguished as the longest running puppet theater in the country. “Over the course of 45 years, the puppet theater has produced 150 different puppet shows,” said Metz.

Much of Metz’s energy now goes into preserving Fairyland’s history. He said he knows it well because he virtually grew up at the park and during one five year stint he actually lived on the park grounds as its caretaker.

This month his new book, Creating a Fairyland - 60 Years of Memories, was published. It is on sale at the park now. His prior book about Fairyland's puppet theatre, called Storybook Strings, is also for sale at the park or on-line here. Metz has contributed to a written history of puppeteering in the San Francisco Bay Area on this website.

Upcoming performances beyond this weekend

If you cannot attend this weekend’s performance of Beauty and the Beast, you won’t have to wait long to catch another puppet show. Metz is already gearing up for his production of the Velveteen Rabbit  which opens at Fairyland November 4.

Metz is also encouraging families to mark their calendars now to attend a special free holiday puppet show at the San Leandro Public Library. On December 14 at 7 p.m. Metz will present  A Time To Be Jolly featuring three foot- tall marionettes. 

To see a map of Fairyland's grounds go here. Find directions to reach it here.