The carpeted floor of the main theater at Vidiots is drizzled with popcorn as dozens of children and their families crowd around a puppet show. Show tunes blast over the speaker as a puppet named Yellow Cat (who is, indeed, a yellow cat) prances and twirls across the floor.
Vidiots is a historic theater in northeast Los Angeles, a few miles from where fires are still burning in the Altadena and Pasadena neighborhoods. Vidiots joined forces with the Bob Baker Marionette Theater nearby to give families and parents a way to take their minds off the devastation.
"The show was planned as a way to give families some relief, an opportunity to do something that's fun and silly. To sit back and get away from the chaos of the world right now," says Yellow Cat's puppet master, Diego Montoya. Vidiots also screened movies and gave out pajamas and coloring books. Many of the families at the free event earlier this week are victims of the fire in one way or another — some have lost homes, others have children who have lost schools.
Three-year-old Leo Bane is one of the spectators of the puppet show. Part of his school burned down in the Eaton Fire, so this event is a welcome distraction for Leo and his mother, Tania Verafield.
"I think this is the only two hours I haven't been constantly checking my phone and trying to get updates and I feel just some relief at watching my son giggle [as he watches] these amazing puppets," says Verafield.
Schools in the Pasadena and Altadena areas are largely closed as the fires continue to burn. The YMCA and local government are offering child care, but slots are filling up fast, and it's falling on many families to look after their young ones. Many told me they're relying on each other to get through this time.
"People don't know LA. It's an amazing community," says Ursula Knudsen. Both of her children lost their school campuses to the fire, and her younger daughter saw her school in flames as she evacuated with her father. Their home was also severely damaged.
"It's not like Altadena needed a tragedy to come together as a community. That's what's wild. It's only showing up 100 times more than it already was," Knudsen says.
Coming to this free event with puppets, movies, and even a 6-foot-tall roving giraffe mascot has brought a moment of relief for Knudsen and her friend, Kate Mallor, whose children's schools were also severely damaged by the fire. "It's been so beautiful to see other moms here and to see our classmates and be able to hug," says Mallor.
The puppet show in the main theater draws to a close with a grand finale. Yellow Cat is dancing to Barbra Streisand's "Don't Rain on My Parade," and that's no coincidence, says Montoya, the puppeteer.
"It's got a great message, you know, 'Don't rain on my parade, I'm going to have fun no matter what,'" Montoya says. "'I'm going to do what brings me joy.'"
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