Characters for a Party

Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Questions

Circus-themed character for 6 year old birthday party?

March 2014

My daughter's birthday is coming up, and she has asked for a circus theme. I am looking for a clown who is also a magician. Can anyone help with a suggestion? The recommendations currently on BPN are all pretty outdated... Thanks so much! Samantha

Happily Ever Laughter! They have a 'circus girl' character http://www.happilyeverlaughterparties.com/characters-themes/just-for-fun/circus- girl.html but all their characters do magic shows (which are funny and interactive) as well as your choice of face-painting, balloon twisting, or sometimes a singalong.

I (and my kid) have had great experiences with this company - performers are professional and work very well with boys and girls of all ages. They are not cheap, and they use annoying 'fairy-speak' on the phone and in e-mail, but I'd hire them again in an instant. HEL Fan!

Entertainer for a Halloween birthday party

RE: Halloween-themed entertainer for 5 year old party

Try Prince Luke D'Arlington: http://www.gigsalad.com/prince_luke_darlington_emeryville I met him at a friend's party. He was absolutely fantastic with young kids. He is really energetic and imaginative. He can play a LOT of different costumed characters, has a great arsenal of activities, and his website says he loves collaborating with parents and party-throwers.

Star Wars Party Entertainer

Feb 2010

My son wants to have a Star Wars party for his birthday this July. Does any one know where I can find a guy who will come to the party dressed in character and provided Jedi Training to ten or so 8-9 year old boys. I've searched the BPN site and all over the internet with no luck. There are some solid choices in Napa and LA, but no one here in the bay area, home to Lucas Films?!? Come On! Candace

Call Stan at Celebrity Gems. A while ago I videotaped a bar mitzvah party where they provided the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. celebgems [at] aol.com or (510) 581-5964. Stu

Character for child's birthday party

Oct 2004

I am looking for a character to entertain at my child's birthday party. Not sure exactly what type I want (princess, clown, etc...?) at this point so am open to ideas. I see past recommendations but some are out of biz and am looking for more current recommendations. Trish

Here's a great idea for a party, check them out at http://www.insectsongs.com. These folks perform regularly at Children's Fairyland in Oakland and are relly a lot of fun! soreya

I saw your post and just wanted to mention a really negative experience I had recently. I hired a princess through the Fun Factory for a party for my 3 year old and was assured the activities would be appropriate for young kids. However, the princess did a short magic show that failed to keep the kids interested which would have been ok had she not seemed so upset by their lack of enthusiasm. She was curt and even rather rude to them. She spent so much time working on making her face paintings perfect on the that the kids lost interest again and my daughter actually asked her to leave! I was very disappointed in the whole thing, especially b/c it was expensive (almost $200) and when she left, my 3 year old said ''Momma, Cinderella isn't very nice''. When I called and wrote to the owner of the company to discuss the problems and ask for some type of refund, he at first acted as if he was concerned but never followed through and finally stopped answering my calls and emails altogether. I would caution you against using this company. Bummed Out

Try The Buddy Club, which puts on fabulous children's entertainment shows in Berkeley, SF and Marin. They also can help book an entertainer for your party and have many types of great performers to recommend. website: http://www.thebuddyclub.com Chris Z.

Theresa Castro at ''For Kids Only and Big Kids Too'' P#510-697-9734. She's great and has various charachters to choose from, she's also great to fit whatever budget you have. She's on the Berkeley Parents sight recommendation list and has done alot of parties from this site. yolandac

I'm not much for clowns in general, but we went to a party for a 4-yr-old where they had Ravioli the Clown, and he was GREAT! The kids loved him, and everyone had a great time. We called him afterwards to try to set him up for our son's party, and he could not have been nicer. In the end we changed plans, and due to location could not have a clown, but I would highly recommend him! Not sure what his # is, but if you can't find it online email me and I'll ask my friend for it. Tracy

We hired Erin Glover to perform at our daughter's 4th birthday party in April. She came as Ariel and the children (20+) had a wonderful time. Erin made the BEST balloons -- every kind of animal you could think of. She was responsive on email, gave me a list of options for activities, and was happy to stick to the schedule I suggested in order for us to get the most out her 1.5 hours at the party. http://www.firepixie.com/parties/
Very satisfied customer!

Cowboy performer for a  party

2001

I am looking for referrals for an enthusiastic cowboy performer for an adult party with a western theme. Ideal performers would know how to crack a whip, do rope/lasso tricks. If they could casually teach line dancing (Texas two-step, etc.)that would be a bonus! Thanks! Rue

In response to the inquiries re an event for adults involving coyboy theme (w/rope etc.) and also for the parent looking for entertainment for her daughter who loves horses, I can recommend Lariet Larry (510-632-1969). He performed at my office's picnic a few years ago when we had a western theme. He was fabulous. He advertises in Parents' Press. He uses audience participation as part of his act and does fancy rope tricks, music and stories about the Old West. He travels to where you are. Trisha

Try calling Celebrity Gems, Stan Heimowitz, 510/581-5964. I've booked lots of different acts through him for several years. Tell him Helena sent you. Good luck! Helena

 

Hiring characters for 4-year old daughter

May 1999

In response to the person asking about hiring characters for a birthday party. I had a birthday party for my 4-year old daughter Friday evening at Habitot and I hired a Minnie & Mickey duo to do face painting and balloon sculpting. I hired them through Fairy Tale Productions which has an office in SF, 415-296-0412. The performers were extremely professional and stayed in-character the entire time. Minnie was especially a hit with the 4 year old girls. It's expensive. Their 'list' price for one character is $119 for one hour, $175 for 1 1/2 and $225 for 2 hours. I got a price break for having 2 characters. They have a list of over 110 characters that they provide including all the latest popular ones like a Blues Clues dog and the Teletubbies. The costumes are not polished like Disneyland and because of copyright issues do not look like the real thing although the clothes they wear looked very close. I requested that they send me a picture of the characters in advance so I would know what I was getting. They mailed me a color copy of about 10 photos of the characters in action so I knew what to expect (I also wanted my daughter to have the appropriate expectation). After the party I asked her how she liked the fake minnie and mickey and she responded 'Mom, that was the REAL Minnie and Mickey'. One of the 3 year olds at the party was very scared of the characters and wouldn't come into the museum until they hid out of sight. The 4 year olds loved them. -- Kathy