Congratulations go out as Fairytale Town, a Sacramento landmark, celebrates 50 years of “day dreams”. On August 29, 1959 Fairytale Town opened it doors and introduced such attractions as The Crooked Mile, The Cheese Stands Alone, Farmer Brown’s Barn, Owl’s House, Cinderella’s Carriage and much more. Since that time, children from all over the Sacramento region, including over 90 zip codes, 25 counties and many nations have come to visit the park that inspires children and adults of all ages.
Throughout the past 50 years Fairytale Town has continued to grow, expand and make improvements on the many park attractions. Fairytale Town features play sets based on nursery rhymes and fairytales situated throughout the lush 2.5-acre park. Six of the attractions feature slides (a favorite among kids) and the Crooked Mile is a “hands-down” favorite set, measuring one-eighth of a mile long. Featured on many of the attractions are Magic Story Boxes, which are key-operated digital boxes, which play both stories and songs to add an auditory element to the park experience.
With 2009 being the 50th year celebration there are many planned activities, which will include a renovation of the Fairytale Town web site, renovating the moat (you need to see it to understand the fullness), hosting a 50th Anniversary Fundraising Party, a Golf Tournament and a Concert. In 1997, after being managed by the City of Sacramento for many years, Fairytale Town became a nonprofit organization. Now supported by the public, this children’s park reinvests its revenues in programs, facility upkeep, capital improvements and operations.
This year, along with the August Anniversary celebrations there will be ongoing activities and events of literature, music, theater, science, nature, different cultures and so much more. There are no two visits the same! March starts out with an event celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday and joining the Read Across America project sponsored by the National Education Association. Saturday, March 2nd from 11AM to 2PM is the kick off for a two-week book drive. Families bringing books will receive one free child admission with a paid adult admission. For a complete listing of all the upcoming activities and events you can visit the website at www.fairytaletown.org.
We want your input! Whether or not you have experienced the adventure of Fairytale Town, we all have those childhood memories of mom and dad reading us our favorite story before bedtime, or your first experience at an amusement park (where you were “just a kid”). Send us your story and we will enter you in a drawing for 4 tickets to Fairytale Town and you can be a part of the 4th generation of guests, entering “Humpty’s Gate” into a place where you and your kids can use your imagination. We will also feature your story in a future edition of the paper to inspire others to want to experience being a kid all over again. You can send your story to: submit@northsacnews.com.
Fairytale Town is open from 9AM to 4PM everyday starting in March. The cost for admission is $4.00 on weekdays and $4.50 on weekends and holidays. Children 2 and under are free. Join them for a year of learning and laughter in 2009 as they celebrate their 50th year of making kids happy!