Retro Finds Await at a Bob Baker Yard Sale

Marionette mavens'll gather as the vintage theater holds one last clear-the-house happening at its former home.

What to Know

  • Sunday, May 19
  • 1345 W. 1st Street
  • Free starting at 9 a.m.; early admission $20 (8-9 a.m.)

Screenwriting books brim with story-starter ideas, the kind of quirky concepts that help you kick off your plot.

And if you were to start writing a kid's movie, the kind of film that's filled with enchantment, wonder, and a little mystery, you'd probably send your protaganists straight into the attic of a vintage puppet theater.

There's no need to step through the screen on this one, if the idea of stepping inside a space filled with puppet-adjacent items appeals: The Bob Baker Marionette Theater is holding a yard sale, all to prepare for its big move to Highland Park.

Indeed, the May 19 sale will take place at the troupe's longtime (and now former) theater, the one that sits just west of downtown at 1345 W. 1st Street.

For sure, entering the sale is free, unless you want to flap in like an early bird, from 8 to 9 o'clock. Then you'll pay twenty bucks at the door.

Absolutely, you may pick up "vintage napkins and party supplies," as well as "snippings of garland" and other offbeat and/or decorative goods.

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But no way, no how, are those famous marionettes going home with any sale attendees. They aren't up for grabs, for they need to dance their way up to Highland Park, and Bob Baker's new home, this summer.

Though this is intriguing: Shoppers may come across "puppet parts and doodads," which immediately prompts a person to ponder just what "puppet parts and doodads" are exactly.

Oh, mysterious.

Still, wading into the whimsical past of this beloved cultural institution will surely be a gas for a lot of fans, whatever they find and buy.

And knowing that any purchases you make will ultimately help the marionettes as they set off on fresh adventures has to make you feel like a film character who has just found a puppet shop's secret attic.

Speaking of fresh adventures, there's one happening the day before the sale, on May 18. A Bob Baker Garden Party is popping up at One Colorado in Old Pasadena, sweet.

Even sweeter? "Over the Garden Wall," a marionette-merry show, will be revived for the benefit. Yep, this is a from-the-past show that hasn't been staged in over three decades, making for an especially neat treat.

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