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12th Annual Bob Baker Day

Celebrating Bob Baker Marionette Theater Legacy at LA State Historic Park

Sunday, September 20, 2026 - 10:00am

12th Annual Bob Baker Day

Sunday September 20, 2026 - 10am - 5pm

**at the Los Angeles State Historic Park **

1245 North Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90012

Free with required RSVP  ($25 suggested donation)

 

On Sunday, September 20th, 2026 - Bob Baker Marionette Theater's FREE annual festival returns for its twelfth year! Bob Baker Day celebrates the legacy of our founder, Bob Baker, with puppets, art, and fun and don’t forget: Sign up your dog for our first ever Dog Costume Contest! Judged by Hollywood Entertainment! 

Visit BBMT's website to learn more about this year’s Grand Marshal, special guests, and schedule: learn more here. Special guests include: SHAUN THE SHEEP, KING KUKULELE, KOO KOO, JOE SELPH & RENE'S MARIONETTES, JOZO BOZO, NüNü, & Friends, CALIFORNIA DANCE INSTITUTE, SCRIBBLE, THE ACTOR’S GANG, NICOLE MCCABE, HOLY PEPPERONI, AARON SHAW, VERY BE CAREFUL, JONNY KOSMO with FREAK NATURE PUPPETS, LOGAN HONE, TIERRA DEL SOL, BUBBLEGIRL, JUGGLER ALEX STERNIN, CIRQUE SCHOOL, LA RAINBOW FIESTA, DEREK DEREK, TOM JENSEN’S PUPPETS. PLUS: The Artist Shag will be signing his Hallowe’en Spooktacular art print from 12-2 PM!

Please note, RSVP is required. BBMT is committed to keeping Bob Baker Day free for all, but we are only able to support this joyous day through BBMT's fundraising efforts. We suggest a donation of $25 or more, if you are able, to continue to keep Bob Baker Day accessible for all. *This event was rescheduled from it's original date of Sunday April 12, 2026*

Bob Baker Marionette Theater is the country’s most iconic nonprofit puppet theater and a Los Angeles Cultural-Historical Monument that has served its community with creativity, joy, and imagination since 1963. The nonprofit Theater serves an intergenerational audience of over 145,000 people each year through its cultural and educational programs and impactful, immersive performances at the intersection of puppetry and the allied arts. www.bobbakermarionettetheater.com

The Man in the Tuskhut

The Man welcomes visitors inside The Nova Tuskhut for solitary encounters

Thursday, September 24, 2026 - 11:30am, Friday, September 25, 2026 - 11:30am
 

The Man in the Tuskhut

A Solitary, 20-minute Encounter inside The Nova Tuskhut

Tickets: $45 ($5 off for VPES Members)

**ADVANCE TICKETS REQUIRED***

Thursday, Sept. 24th - Timeslots 11:30am - 5:00pm

Friday, Sept. 25th - Timeslots 11:30am - 5:00pm

 

The Man in the Tuskhut welcomes strangers for a 20-minute, solitary encounter with cutting edge technology in the Velaslavasay Panorama’s famed exhibit, The Nova Tuskhut.

During your visit you will receive souvenir postcards, enjoy a short documentary on the mysterious man and explore the Velaslavasay Panorama's exhibits, including: Shengjing Panorama, the Gardens of the Illustrious Pacific Rim and the VP's latest installation - Frontier Saloon, a Pre-Prohibition-Era boomtown “public house” symbolic of frontier towns of the imaginary Old West, Far North, Far South and Far East. 

Tickets for this event are not refundable nor exchangable.

 

 

  ...along the very skirmish line of civilization where the turning of a spade has oftentimes led to the discovery of a fortune…in that terrible Wonderland of the North…no pictures we have seen, no descriptions we have read or heard, compare with reality.

 

   

The Man in the Tuskhut is an experimental immersive experience co-created by the Velaslavasay Panorama, Immersive Research Media Associates IRMA 360 (Sara Velas & Ruby Carlson) and Incident, a secretive new experiential entertainment company from Jason Woliner (Paul T. Goldman) and Eric Notarnicola (The Rehearsal). Supported in part by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Velaslavasay Panorama Enthusiast Society. This program was funded in part by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Velaslavasay Panorama Enthusiast Society.

 

The Man in the Tuskhut

The Man welcomes visitors inside The Nova Tuskhut for solitary encounters

Thursday, September 24, 2026 - 11:30am, Friday, September 25, 2026 - 11:30am
 

The Man in the Tuskhut

A Solitary, 20-minute Encounter inside The Nova Tuskhut

Tickets: $45 ($5 off for VPES Members)

**ADVANCE TICKETS REQUIRED***

Thursday, Sept. 24th - Timeslots 11:30am - 5:00pm

Friday, Sept. 25th - Timeslots 11:30am - 5:00pm

 

The Man in the Tuskhut welcomes strangers for a 20-minute, solitary encounter with cutting edge technology in the Velaslavasay Panorama’s famed exhibit, The Nova Tuskhut.

During your visit you will receive souvenir postcards, enjoy a short documentary on the mysterious man and explore the Velaslavasay Panorama's exhibits, including: Shengjing Panorama, the Gardens of the Illustrious Pacific Rim and the VP's latest installation - Frontier Saloon, a Pre-Prohibition-Era boomtown “public house” symbolic of frontier towns of the imaginary Old West, Far North, Far South and Far East. 

Tickets for this event are not refundable nor exchangable.

 

 

  ...along the very skirmish line of civilization where the turning of a spade has oftentimes led to the discovery of a fortune…in that terrible Wonderland of the North…no pictures we have seen, no descriptions we have read or heard, compare with reality.

 

   

The Man in the Tuskhut is an experimental immersive experience co-created by the Velaslavasay Panorama, Immersive Research Media Associates IRMA 360 (Sara Velas & Ruby Carlson) and Incident, a secretive new experiential entertainment company from Jason Woliner (Paul T. Goldman) and Eric Notarnicola (The Rehearsal). Supported in part by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Velaslavasay Panorama Enthusiast Society. This program was funded in part by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the Velaslavasay Panorama Enthusiast Society.

 

Doors Open California

Union Theatre's Immersive Panorama World

Saturday, September 26, 2026 - 11:00am

 

 

Doors Open California 2026

Saturday, September 26th, 2026

11:00am to 5:00 pm

Advanced Tickets Required - through Doors Open California

Tickets will gain you access to sites throughout the State! Registration is a flat fee of $20 per person to access all sites (children and students are free). 

 

Doors Open California is the largest statewide celebration of historic places in California. Enthusiasts of historic architecture, design, and cultural heritage will have access to over 75 sites across the state on the weekends during the month of September 2026. For the second year in a row, Velaslavasay Panorama is a featured site of Doors Open California.This year, guests will enjoy exlusive exhibits throughout the museum on the Union Theatre's 116-year history.

From 3:00pm-5:30pm there will be musical accompaniment in the garden, courtesy of 88.8 FM KVSY and Mild Bill the singing cowboy.

Tickets and full details are available at: californiapreservation.org/doca

Florence in Ruin: An Excavation

An exhibition staged in the theatre of the Velaslavasay Panorama

Friday, November 13, 2026 - 11:00am to Saturday, December 19, 2026 - 5:45pm

Florence in Ruin: An Excavation 

November 13, 2026 - December 19, 2026

Florence in Ruin: An Excavation is an installation that organizes and displays a psychic fixation on the Port of Long Beach as a terminal for corruption, paranoia, petroleum industries, and the transmission of art history. 

The installation will have an opening reception Thursday, November 12th, 2026, with an introduction by Norman Klein and Margo Bistis and a slideshow presentation by Sara Velas and Ruby Carlson of Florence in Ruin—or—The Great Escape.

Florence in Ruin: An Excavation is staged in the theatre of the Velaslavasay Panorama November 13, 2026 - December 19, 2026 and accessible during open hours by appointment ($7 suggested donation).

Opening reception: Thursday, November 12, 2026 7:30pm.

Ticket: $18 (Free for VPES members with advance registration)  Reservation link forthcoming

Archivists Ruby Carlson and Sara Velas will present a 20 min. experimental slideshow Florence in Ruin—or—The Great Escape as the debut event for the exhibition Florence in Ruin: An Excavation, with an introduction and discussion by Norman Klein and Margo Bistis. This event is the inaugural iteration of the series The Archival Phantasist, co-curated by Sara Velas, Ruby Carlson, Norman Klein and Margo Bistis. 

 

Florence in Ruin: An Excavation is a part of the 2026 Hyper SoCal initiative, which brings awareness to nonprofit and municipal art venues supporting working artists in Southern California. The exhibition is made possible in part by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Velaslavasay Panorama Enthusiast Society.