Lina LecaroThe Bob Baker Marionette Theater has something to celebrate! The company announced its new home in Highland Park (4949 York Blvd.) just this week, and Saturday, Feb. 23, is Bob Baker Day at the L.A. State Historic Park, promising a day full of colorful puppets and pure joy.
The event highlights the legacy created by Baker and marks the legendary L.A. puppeteer's 95th birthday with puppet-making workshops with the Los Angeles Guild of Puppetry, as well as live music, carnival midway games, art booths, vendors, food trucks and, of course, wooden and stringed creatures of all shapes and sizes.
The historic marionette theater says it will be bringing its thousands of puppets, ice cream and “boundless imagination” to the new location this summer, and to this outdoor extravaganza as well. King Kukulele, Tiny & Mary, Snooknuk and Frank Fair will perform, and DJ Timothy Nordwind (OK GO) spins whimsical sounds curated from the BBMT library and archives. Other amusements include an educational tour through the world of puppetry (with works from master puppeteers like Bill Baird, Tony Sarg, Blanding Sloan, Tony Urbano and the rarely seen archival Bob Baker collection), hair tinseling, face painting, caricature art, air painting, juggling and juggle ball-making, clowns, hula hooping and more.
A rendering of the new venue in Highland Park; Credit: Courtesy Bob Baker Marionette Theater
As announced on its social media, Bob Baker hopes to educate kids of all ages throughout Los Angeles, “to celebrate imagination and creativity, and to rejuvenate appreciation for handcrafted puppetry and the allied arts.” It now enjoys 501*c)3 nonprofit organization status and is more focused than ever on fundraising to carry out this mission. You can show your support with a tax-free donation or simply by attending Bob Baker Day and having fun.
L.A. State Historic Park, 1245 N. Spring St., downtown; Sat., Feb. 23, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; free. facebook.com/events/386952108721669.
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