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Gumby Fans Unite: First Gumby Fest Hits L.A. This Weekend
(Photo by Denise Taylor via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
This Saturday marks the inaugural Gumby Fest, a day-long celebration in Glendora dedicated to the children's TV show and stop-motion animation. Gumby, everyone's favorite green, whacky-inflatable-arm-man-ish adventurer, was created by Art Clokey in the early 1950s. Clokey and his wife, Ruth, relocated Clokey Productions from Hollywood to a larger space on Fleetwood Ave. in Glendora in 1960.
Jeff Kugel, who is organizing the event, decided to hold a fest not only to honor Clokey, but to celebrate stop-motion animation as well, The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports.
Gumby Fest will feature a Gumby museum, crafts, screenings and presentations from Stoopid Buddies Studio (Robot Chicken), LAIKA Studios (ParaNorman, BoxTrolls), Clokey Productions' staff and Clokey's son, Joe Clokey.
Gary Boyer of Gumby Fest says they will determine whether or not this will turn into an annual festival based on this first year. Boyer said that for him, the most exciting part of the festival is the attendance of "twelve animators who started their careers at Clokey productions and [who] have gone on to continue their work in Hollywood."
Gumby Fest is on June 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can park at the Glendora Civic Center at 140 S. Glendora Ave. Admission is free, but first come, first served.
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