A Life In Gowns: Meet Princess Naomi

Ever wonder who we are when we're not all glitzed up, entertaining your little ones with our mad face paint and balloon skills, or dazzling them with our big bag of magic tricks? We're a diverse group of folk, each coming from a different performance background, and with a little bit of a different story. 

Allow me to introduce: Princess Naomi!

Naomi is one of our most experienced and most requested entertainers, and it's really no wonder why. A classically trained theater actor and musical theater performer, Naomi truly embodies each character, and brings her own special brand of silly along, too. She's an incredibly versatile entertainer, and switches easily between the more traditional Princess roles and other, sillier characters. When Naomi was little, her favorite Princess was always the Little Mermaid.

 "She's super goofy and fun, but seriously curious, and always questions everything. Plus, being a mermaid is just awesome!"

As a kid, Naomi used to spend hours in the bath, her little feet crossed, make believing she was a mermaid herself, but she never imagined that she would one day be pretending professionally. 

Naomi had always been passionate about performance and costuming, and when she was little, she dreamed of becoming a professional Ballerina. The first Halloween when she chose her own costume, she was a Mouse Fairy Ballerina. 

After studying musical theater at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Naomi moved to the Bay Area to pursue another long time love: circus. A friend who had been working as a kids' entertainer suggested that Naomi might make a perfect Princess, so Naomi applied to Fire Pixie (thank you, whoever you are!). It started as a great survival job for her while she worked on a variety of different projects and trained circus, but Naomi very quickly fell in love with making kids happy. 

"It's hard to not love what you do when you see all those adorable smiles!" she says. 

Since staring with Fire Pixie, Naomi has done a ton of parties for kids of all ages, but especially loves the 4 year old crowd because "They're old enough that they're engaged, but magic is still very much alive in their imaginations."  

Naomi loves all the characters she plays, but especially enjoys being Ariel and Elsa, since they're both singers, and they really give Naomi a chance to show off her vocal chops. 

"Elsa is also a very powerful character, and definitely not your damsel in distress, so she's really fun to play." says Naomi. "Plus, all the kids absolutely love her." 

Naomi is an excellent face painter, and her magic show is top notch, but she says she really loves doing Crafts with the kids "Because you get to play with them instead of for them, and make something awesome together." 

Naomi remembers one party in particular, where she appeared as Elsa at a birthday celebration for a very special little Princess who was recovering from chemotherapy. 

"Her hair was just starting to come back, and it was so touching watching this little girl and her friends just belting out Let It Go. Overcoming your obstacles and staying strong through your struggles is really what it's all about after all." she says. 

When Naomi's not entertaining kids at parties, she can often be found flying through the air with the greatest of ease as a professional aerialist, or twisting herself in to unfathomable shapes as a contortionist. Learn more about Naomi's circus performance here. 

 

Naomi on her Aerial Frame. Photo by RJ Muna.

If you'd like to invite Naomi to your party to inspire and amaze your little Princess, you can book her here. 

New Characters!

We've added a couple new characters to our team!

First up, all the way from sunny Hawaii, it's Disney's newest heroine (and first ever Polynesian Princess): Moana!

Launch your canoe full of fun and adventure! Learn about Hawaiian history and culture while Moana entertains and delights your guests, and make your birthday girl feel like the hero she's always dreamed of being. 


Next, transport your birthday party to a world of magic, wizards, and witches by inviting Harry Potter to come teach everyone some spells that will make your birthday child remember this day forever. 

Our Harry Potter specializes in truly amazing magic that will leave even the adults scratching their heads. Book him alone, or invite Hermione too for a truly unforgettable party!

If you'd like to invite Moana or Harry Potter to your party, you can book them here. 

A Life in Gowns: Meet Princess Lanie

Ever wonder who we are when we're not all glitzed up, entertaining your little ones with our mad face paint and balloon skills, or dazzling them with our big bag of magic tricks? We're a diverse group of folk, each coming from a different performance background, and with a little bit of a different story. 

Allow me to introduce: Princess Lanie!

Lanie is one of our most experienced and most requested entertainers. In her 9 years working with Fire Pixie, she's appeared at almost 1000 parties, and brought joy and laughter to countless kiddos. Now, she's spread those sparkly wings, and flown off to Los Angeles to open a brand new Fire Pixie branch, and we couldn't be more excited!

Lanie's always loved storytelling, dressing up, magic, and everything fairytale related. When she was quite little (about 3 - 4), like so many girls that age, she dreamed of becoming a Fairy Princess when she grew up. As she got older though, her dream evolved, and she decided that since Fairyhood might not exactly be an option, she'd be an actress and a writer, so she could share her love of storytelling with the masses. 

In pursuit of this dream, Lanie studied theater in school, and started working in the wonderful world of the arts, doing marketing and design for some small theater companies, art studios, and galleries. She traveled to Turkey when she was in college, where she discovered the beautiful art of Turkish shadow puppetry and was absolutely blown away! When the time came for her to do her undergrad thesis, Lanie wrote a grant and got to go back to Turkey, to study it more closely. It was there that she learned how to make puppets, learned all about the social and political history of puppetry, and learned that there were even a number of modern puppet troupes doing political shows right here in the US. 

When she returned from her trip, the summer after college, Lanie worked with Bread and Puppet theater in Vermont, which boats the largest puppet in the world. 

After moving to the Bay, Lanie discovered that this area is a hotbed for puppeteers (who knew??), and began working with a few groups here, doing puppet design, mostly for adult shows, but some for kids too. 

She also continued working in theater, and found herself in a Fairytales for Kids show being performed in schools and libraries with Fire Pixie's own Sarah. Upon learning of Lanie's love of storytelling and puppets, Sarah suggested that Lanie meet Erin. 

Lanie had no idea that such a job existed; one that could combine her love of laughter, storytelling, and magic so well, and her three-year-old self was absolutely over the moon! So she met with Erin, and it was clear from the get-go that this was exactly where Lanie needed to be.

Since then, Lanie's had the great pleasure of appearing at tons of parties, as a variety of different characters, but is especially fond of being a Fairy Princess or a Pirate. 

"They're both super fun and flexible characters" she says. "I get to make up my own stories and improv with kids, instead of having a set script to work with." 

Lanie is adored by kids of all ages, and really gets a kick out of the 3 - 6 age range: 

"Three to six year olds just love being silly!" she says. "Give me a group of three-year-olds and I can keep them laughing forever with one joke. They just love it! The threes and fours are in that silly wordplay area, which is really fun. The fives and sixes are really in to the stories, and know everything there is to know about their favorite characters, which means you can get in to really cool story nuances with them." 

 An excellent entertainer all-around, Lanie particularly loves doing activities like magic, puppets (of course), and birthday theater. 

"Magic is always fun because I can really be silly and joke around with the kids. The birthday theater is great because you get to help the kids come up with their very own story" she says. 

After so many years of performing at kids' parties, Lanie of course has tons of happy party memories, but one in particular stands out: 

"I was doing a Fairy Princess party" says Lanie, "and had a guest request something special for her face paint design: a waterfall on one cheek with 5 droplets of water splashing off it, because she was 5 years old." 

Always up for a challenge, Lanie set to work creating this special design, and apparently, she nailed it!

"When I finished and showed this little girl her face in the mirror, she absolutely lit up, and said 'I LOVE MYSELF!', which as a children's entertainer is what we call a BIG win!" 

 Lanie's party hosts and hostesses always have wonderful things to say about her performances, and it's no wonder she's one of our most popular entertainers. 

"Lanie was great with the kids. She had great energy and did awesome face painting and balloons. Kids had lots of fun!! She also made the birthday girl feel really special. Thank you Lanie for making my child's birthday more special." 

"My daughter absolutely LOVED it! She was so excited when she saw Elsa walking down the street. And Lanie made her feel so special and like a princess!" 

"Lanie had everyone mesmerized and entertained the moment she came through the door -- girls, boys and all the grown ups too! She had a beautiful voice and did the most awesome face paintings and glitter tattoos. Several of the adults ended up getting their faces painted and glittered up too."

So, why the move to LA? 

Lanie had been feeling as though she'd kind of plateaued a bit in the Bay, and was looking for a new challenge. She and her partner had been talking about making a move to LA for a while, and Lanie had been considering opening a business of some kind there. So she asked Erin if she might pick her brain a bit about small business in general. Erin was more than happy to help, and sat down with Lanie to brainstorm. It wasn't until Erin said "You know... you could always open a Fire Pixie branch in SoCal, too" that Lanie realized that she could take her love or performing, magic, and storytelling down to LA with her, and keep right on working in this awesome family of performers. She was overjoyed, and Fire Pixie SoCal was born!

When Lanie's not out performing or in the office booking parties for lucky Southern California kiddos, these days she's focused mostly on motherhood, having just welcomed her own bundle of joy to the world. Since she loves performing, and making silly voices, she's begun exploring the world of voiceover acting, too, and looks forward to getting in to that more soon.

If you'd like to invite Lanie or any of her wonderful LA-based entertainers to your next party to inspire your little ones to follow their dreams, you can fill out our online booking form, or contact the SoCal office directly at 714.831.1880. 

A Life In Gowns: Meet Princess Windy

Ever wonder who we are when we're not all glitzed up, entertaining your little ones with our mad face paint and balloon skills, or dazzling them with our big bag of magic tricks? We're a diverse group of folk, each coming from a different performance background, and with a little bit of a different story. 

Allow me to introduce: Princess Windy!

A born performer, Windy got her start onstage at age 6, when she landed the role of Charlene "Cha Cha" DiGregorio in a production of Grease at her school. She had 4 speaking lines, which was the most of anyone in her age group, and got to dress up and wear makeup, which she thought was the best thing ever! The production was a hit, and Windy was officially hooked. 

When she was small, Windy was convinced that one day, she'd grow up to be a Princess. Not a make-believe Princess, mind you, but real life royalty. Her mother rained on that parade somewhat, though, telling Windy that being Jewish she likely couldn't be a real princess, since most royalty was Christian. But Windy wasn't about to let that stop her, and decided that if real life royalty wasn't in her future, well then she'd be an actress, so she could be whatever she wanted! She spent her childhood with this dream in mind, playing dress up and pretending to be a Queen, and all her friends were, of course, her servants. Her favorite Disney princess was always Ariel, and Windy used to spend hours swimming around in the pool like a mermaid and playing all kinds of mermaid games.

Years later, Windy's love of theater was alive and well, and she worked in theater admin doing marketing and development, helping to bring the magic of live performance to the masses. She started developing her own material, and found that the world of physical comedy was where she wanted to be more than anything. So she attended the Clown Conservatory in San Francisco to develop her skills. It was there that she met Drea, another wonderful entertainer (and Fire Pixie Princess), who clued Windy in to the magic of children's entertainment.

"Kids are the most honest audience," Drea told her. "They'll really tell you if you're funny or not."  

Windy had been on the road, touring her one-woman show through the US and Canada, and needed a job when she landed back in the Bay. Drea had been working with Fire Pixie for a while and was loving it, and thought Windy would be a fantastic addition to our team.  

Boy, was she right! Since then, Windy's performed at tons of parties with Fire Pixie, and her clients absolutely love her!

"I loved Windy's character! She wasn't a 'typical' Fairy Princess, all cutesy and saccharine. She was more like a wacky, bumbling Fairy Godmother with TONS of energy."

"Windy was awesome and the kids loved her. She was a natural and the birthday girl wants another party tomorrow with Windy :). She connected on a personal level with most kids in the party. Several other parents commented that she was the best Elsa they'd seen in a Frozen themed party. She has great energy and improvised adeptly to a variety of situations. I'd work with her again any day! Thanks again for making this a great experience!"

She's got a great repertoire of characters, but especially loves being a Balloon Pixie or Clown, since those are really open and flexible and really give her the opportunity to flex her comedic muscles. She still loves being a Princess too, though, and brings her own flavor of physical comedy to every character she plays.

 

 

"No matter what costume I'm in, I'm always a silly variation on that character, which makes it a little more accessible to the kids. They love seeing Elsa, who's usually a little hard and cold, loosen up a bit and just play with them!" 

Windy loves doing her comedy magic show for kids, especially as Elsa, doing ice and snow magic. The way she does her magic, everything is a joke on her, and she gets to be super silly and make fun of herself. She absolutely loves getting the kids all riled up and poking fun at her, too. 

"It's the most fun ever when kids are sitting there yelling 'It's right there, Elsa!' when you can't find your rainbow or what-have-you", she says. 

She also really loves doing dance parties because she gets to be super physical and run around and really play with the kids, which they absolutely love. She brings tons of fabric to parties, and literally throws them around over the kids' heads, or uses them to make tents for the dance party to happen in, or plays parachute type games. 

Kids of all ages love Windy's show, but she really loves working with the 4 - 5 age group. 

"Four and five-year-olds are the best!" she says. "They understand the magic and really get the comedy and jokes, but they're not trying to challenge it or look for holes in it. They get why it's funny that your rainbow disappeared, or changed in to ice crystals, and they love being a part of making it happen."

Windy's got so many happy memories form parties, but remembers one party in particular with especial fondness: 

"A while back, I was Elsa at a birthday party for an adorable little girl named Emma, who had just turned 5. She was absolutely blown away and just couldn't believe that Elsa had come all the way from Arendelle just to celebrate her birthday with her! She'd drawn 6 pictures for me, which she presented to me with obvious pride, along with a giant rock, which she said I was to take back to Arendelle as a souvenir. She took great care throughout the party to be a good hostess, and make sure I had everything I needed. It was a hot day, and assuming I must be parched, she made me multiple glasses of her very own hydrating birthday cocktail: a combination of lemonade, birthday cake, goldfish crackers, and blueberries." 

Wise beyond her years, Emma knew that doing all that magic and face painting musty be making Elsa hungry, too.

"I brought you a tomato, Elsa!" she said. "A what?" said Windy/Elsa, "We don't have these in Arendelle!" This prompted Emma to take her inside to show her the fridge where they keep all their food. At the end of the party, she threw her arms around Windy and gave her a big kiss. "I love you Elsa!" she said. "My heart just melted", says Windy. 

When she's not entertaining kids at parties, Windy's busy running her very own company: taking care of all the marketing, outreach, costuming, and production. "It's a full time job," she says, "but I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing!" She continues to tour her award winning one woman theatrical comedy show around the US and Canada with great success, and is working on developing a half hour kid's stage show, too.

If you'd like to invite Windy to your party to make your guests giggle with glee, you can book her here.

Party Snack Ideas: Spiderman Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Such a great idea for a Spiderman themed party! These red velvet whoopie pies are super easy to make, and would look great on a Spiderman themed snack table. Use melted white chocolate to decorate your pies with webs, or even make a little Spiderman mask!

What you'll need:

• 1 box Betty Crocker yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 box chocolate instant pudding
• 2 tbsp red food coloring
• 1 7oz jar of marshmallow creme
• 1 8oz package of creme cheese (softened)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Melted white chocolate (for decorating)

Follow along with Popsugar Food's great tutorial to make your own: 

Party Craft Ideas -- DIY Harry Potter Wands

Here's a great party giveaway idea for your Harry Potter themed party: chopstick wands! They're super quick and easy to make, and you'll save a bundle on party favors. Make them in advance and give one to each party guest, and invite your own Harry Potter entertainer to teach them how to use them! 

What you'll need: 

• 15" bamboo cooking chopsticks (like these ones)
• Assorted colors of brown acrylic paint
• Foam brushes
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks (about 2 sticks per wand, to be safe)
• Glossy spray paint

Remember, each wand is a little different, so don't be afraid to get creative! Follow along with this great step-by-step guide from Boxy Colonial. 

Party Craft Ideas: Pirate Telescope Craft

Looking for fun ideas for your upcoming Pirate themed party? Want to keep all your party guests busy and having fun until your very own Pirate entertainer arrives to inspire adventure on the high seas with pirate lessons, pirate face painting, balloon sword fighting, and pirate games? One Time Through has a great idea to do just that: DIY telescopes! They're super easy to make, and your little buccaneers will have hours of fun with them after the party, too. :) 

What you'll need:

• Paper cups (1 per telescope)
• Blue food coloring
• Small see-through cylindrical container a little bigger than the opening in a paper towel roll, and about 1/2" - 1" deep (1 per telescope)
• Acrylic paints or Paint Marker pens
• Glue gun
• Tape (electrical tape works great!)
• Things to decorate the outside of the telescope (they used black and gold paint, glitter foam sheets, thread, and plastic beads)

Here's the full step-by-step tutorial. Have fun, and happy crafting!

Party Snack Ideas - Descendants Dark Side Velvet Cupcakes

Looking for fun ideas for your Descendants themed snack table? Well look no further! These decadent dark velvet cupcakes are absolutely perfect for a Descendants themed party, and they look so elegant!

What you'll need:

For Dark Red Velvet Cake:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 oz. red food dye

For Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:

• 8oz cream cheese
• 1 lb unsalted butter
• 1lb powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. himalayan salt
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla

Here's the full recipe and step-by-step guide from Adventures of a Couponista.

A Life in Capes: Meet Prince Jacob

Ever wonder who we are when we're not all decked out, entertaining your little ones with our mad face paint and balloon skills, or dazzling them with our big bag of magic tricks? We're a diverse group of folk, each coming from a different performance background, and with a little bit of a different story. 


Allow me to introduce: Prince Jacob!

Jacob caught the theater bug early! At 7 years old, he started at a new school, after struggling for years due to a learning disability (he didn't speak until he was 4, and was two years behind his peers in speaking and English). At this new school, Jacob was encouraged by his teachers and his family to join in on their annual plays, where every student contributed something. It was through these plays that Jacob started to come out of his shell, and conquer his disability. Jacob's first play was called Very Wrong Door, and was about a group of kids who find out their favorite park is about to be replaced by an arcade.  It was such a hit, a local newspaper picked up the story, and suddenly Jacob was very much in the spotlight. You'd think all that attention might be overwhelming for a 7 year old, but not for Jacob! All of a sudden, he was talking up a storm. More than that, he was confident! And he didn't stop there: all through elementary and high school, Jacob participated in every production he could, and found that when he had to be "on" in front of people, he was a rockstar! Over the years, it became clear that being social and interacting with people was what he was meant to be doing, and so Jacob the entertainer was born.

In college Jacob had been working as a server, but hadn't really been enjoying it. 

"There's no life in it!" he says, "I didn't feel like I was doing anything, or contributing to society. I was just working for a paycheck." During a production of Peter Pan, he met one of Fire Pixie's princess entertainers and Jacob was intrigued. "So, like a Clown?" he asked, to which Princess Lily replied "It's better!".  

So Jacob applied to Fire Pixie, and spent the entire night before his interview prepping. "I was so nervous!" he says, "I'd always been someone else's character, with scripts and direction and things. I'd never done most of this before." He needn't have worried though, it was clear within minutes that he was absolutely perfect. 

Fast forward to today, and Jacob is one of our most popular entertainers, and his party hosts absolutely love him! 

 

He plays a variety of different characters, but especially enjoys being Peter Pan or a Jedi. 

"When I'm Peter Pan, it's not like a clown going to the party. It's not just someone coming. It's PETER", says Jacob. True, Peter Pan has a following that kids just die for. "It's like he's a celebrity and they want to ask him all kinda of questions. Seeing how compassionate kids are about that character gives you hope for future generations. He's a really innocent character, so there's a great vibe throughout the party, and he's definitely a symbol of a growth of imagination." 

Jacob also loves being a Jedi, because he's a huge Star Wars fan himself and it's fun to share that with your party guests. 

"Jedi have this authority that's very looked up to." he says. "Kinda like a mentor, so a lot of times your shows turn in to a teaching lesson for kids on how to behave: focus, have discipline, determination and drive. Jedi are a symbol of dedication in practice. The kids know that, and when you start talking about the force, it's super believable for them. You get to teach kids a lot about respect, too. Kind of like teaching them a lifestyle of martial arts, and they're dedicated so they pay really close attention and really take a lot away."

Jacob works with kids of all ages, but particularly enjoys the 5 - 6 age group. 

"Older kids have a little more imagination and are a little more emotionally developed, but not at the age where they're questioning everything you do and trying to squash the magic. With 5 and 6 year olds, you can be more down to earth, but they still have the imagination and faith and believability in the characters."

Jacob does a ton of different activities and is a wonderfully energetic entertainer, a fantastic balloon twister, and has a top notch magic show.

"Magic is great because it's not about the destination. Kind of like life, it's all about the journey. Getting from point A to point B is boring, the adventure is in the process." 

Jacob says the laughter is his favorite part: 

"The whole process of trial and error and silliness; working together and figuring out how things work is great! Even though everything is going 'wrong' you get to go through it together, and that's the part kids love."

He also loves doing Jedi Training, of course, but his favorite activity might be the Scavenger or Treasure Hunt, "because they're usually not expecting it, so it's a fun surprise. As a parent you want to the kids' surprised face, and scavenger hunt gives yet another opportunity for that. Seeing kids work together is really cool too, instead of competing."

After hundreds of shows with Fire Pixie, Jacob has lots of wonderful memories:

Most recently, at a party where Jacob appeared as Captain America, he met Charlie, a newly 3 year old, who was obsessed with Captain America. 

"First thing he did was run to the kitchen and grab a bunch of pictures he'd drawn, and present them to me 'for keeps'. Then, he gave me the grand tour of the house, which concluded in his bedroom, where he showed me all his favorite toys. He was so proud, and obviously over the moon that Captain America had come for his party." 

When it was time for Jacob to leave, Charlie gave him a huge hug, and his dad asked him 

"What does Captain America say, Charlie?"  

"I'm Captain America and I'm going to save the day!"

And once, at a triple Star Wars party with our own Luma and Juliana, Jacob got an unexpected surprise: 

"We were in the middle of doing the magic show, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there's Darth Vader!" No one had mentioned that Vader was coming too, and he was being played by someone Jacob didn't recognize. "All the kids were going nuts and yelling at me to fight Vader." he says, "But I'd never met this guy before, and didn't want to just start attacking him!" Jacob shot a look to the hostess of the party, who seemed just as surprised as he was. Luckily, Luma and Juliana jumped right in and took over the magic, allowing Jacob to approach Vader and ask if it was OK for him to vanquish him. Vader was a good sport, and an epic battle ensued, with the kids cheering Jacob on the whole time.

After the event, we posted this great selfie from that day on our Facebook Page, and got a message in the comments from our Surprise Vader (who it turns out was a parent of one of the party guests, and a huge Star Wars fan), thanking Jacob, Juliana, and Luma for allowing him to live out one of his childhood dreams and be a part of the show. 

When Jacob's not training young padawans, or delighting kids and parents alike at parties, he's a full time student in HR (he might also go for a Masters in History, because he's a big history fan). He also works part time as a dispatcher for his family's appliance repair business. In what little free time he has, Jacob enjoys reading comics (Captain America was his favorite growing up), and spending time outdoors with his lovely girlfriend.

If you'd like to invite Jacob to teach your little ones the way of the force, and inspire them to follow their dreams, you can book him here.  

Selfie Saturday Part 2 -- A Behind the Scenes Look at our Weekend

Ever wonder what a day in the life of a Fire Pixie entertainer looks like? Well wonder no more! We've been busy these past couple weeks, and we've got more wonderful selfies to show for it! 

As usual, they're a great mix of serious: 

Silly:

And seriously silly: