Text and photos by Jason McKenney
The Barker Hangar isn't the most impressive structure on the outside. It has the look of a giant aluminum pipe that's been sawed in half and turned over like an oversized bunker. There are rows of chain-link fence stretching around to demarcate parking and security stations. It's right next to the semi-private (and soon to be erased) Santa Monica airport. But inside the hangar on this day was a colorful, adorable, lovable, overdose of Hello Kitty cuteness. Enough to make the most cynical and coldest of individuals feel a little bit warm on the inside...or maybe enough to throw up depending on your preference.
The kids of some of my best friends are obsessed with Hello Kitty. They buy the clothes, the backpacks, the pencils and folders, t-shirts. The freaked when a new store was opened in the Lakewood Mall. They collect the cards and stickers and hats and candy. When I invited several of these kids out to the latest Sanrio Small Gift Fest in Santa Monica they could barely contain their excitement. Hello Kitty is a devastatingly popular character from Japan. The character actually serves as a great outreach program of Japanese culture to the rest of the world. In places like Los Angeles, that outreach is lapped up by American kids (of various cultural backgrounds) like water drops in the desert.
We entered the hangar to be met with a kaleidoscope of colors, caramel smells, j-pop music, and circus rides. Girls were dressed in cosplay of shiny, short skirts and cat makeup. It was a glorious experience for the young tweens I brought. Jennie and TJ rode the Ferris Wheel. KC and Jared wandered through the art hall and ate ice cream. Joah and Christian played games and drank Ramune.
The kids were dizzy with joy when we finally left. They begged me to bring them again next year. The Sanrio Festival is growing in popularity and touring across the nation in major metropolitan areas. If you have kids in your life and one of these events shows up in a town near you, we highly advise you take them. Go for the kids. Stay for the ice cream. Please don't throw up at the cuteness.
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| Everyone wins at Small Gift. Jennie and TJ with their own small gifts. |
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| The art exhibitions cover a a wide range of Hello Kitty themes. From bright and colorful to dark and gothic. |
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| Enjoying the art walk display. |
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| Jared poses with the Hello Kitty smart car that could probably fit in his pocket. |
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| My traveling band of explorers, crushing all of Sanrio. |
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