Kid's Animal Party Recs
Does anyone know of any animal or bug entertainers for kids parties? Upon first look there seems to be a lot but after seeking them out I seem to be coming upon roadblocks: the infamous bunny lady has passed, Furs Tails and Scales seems to not be replying any longer to folks who message and another company isn't able to post up at public parks due to their exotic lizard collection. Thanks in advance.
Jun 9, 2025
Parent Replies
I've been to a kids' party at the Lindsay Wildlife Experience in Walnut Creek. They had animals as part of the party. You should also check out the East Bay Vivarium. I think they travel for events at libraries, etc.
Christine Wolf with Critter Quest is excellent. http://www.critter-quest.com/
Good luck with the party!
We were able to obtain permission from Emeryville to have the East Bay Vivarium traveling reptile show (https://www.eastbayvivarium.org/traveling-reptile-show) in Doyle Hollis Park last summer. They don't allow animal shows where the animals might poop in the park, but the reptile show was fine. The show was entertaining and informative and had a lot of different animals. It might be a bit scary for smaller or more sensitive kids--the entertainer likes to take kids by surprise, which might not be your kid's speed.
For our kid’s recent birthday, we looked into a reptile show from Owen, who is affiliated with the East Bay Vivarium. His email is: humanreptile [at] earthlink.net (humanreptile[at]earthlink[dot]net)
Owen said he could come to a public park as long as there was a shaded area. The show ended up being out of our budget this time, so we didn’t book it, but we were definitely intrigued and will consider it for a future kids’ party.
Try the East Bay Vivarium. This may be out of date but 8 years ago we had the reptile guy from there and he was fantastic.
Our friends recently had a backyard birthday party featuring someone from the Insect Discovery Lab - she was great!
If your child likes reptiles, the East Bay Vivarium has a traveling reptile show (https://www.eastbayvivarium.org/traveling-reptile-show) and also Things That Ceep (https://www.thingsthatcreep.org/). A couple years ago we also did a birthday party for my animal loving daughter at the Lindsay Wildlife Experience (https://lindsaywildlife.org/birthday-party-packages/) in Walnut Creek. She had a rabbit, desert tortoise, and great horned owl as animal ambassadors (you have to do these parties on-site).
I will note that it may be easier to get animals if you are not at a public park. For various reasons including animal safety, unpredictable public, weather, insurance requirements, zoonotic disease risk, etc. a lot of handlers would not have their animals that exposed in the open. If you have a closed party space, you may have better luck. Even renting a park clubhouse or similar venue can give you more options.
We recently went to a 6 year old birthday party where they had Jungle James (Jungle James Animal Adventures, LLC – Welcome to the Jungle). He was amazing...extremely interactive and engaging with both kids and adults! We appreciated that he really took the time to educate his audience on each animal / insect / bug that he brought to share instead of rushing through each one as we've seen from past animal presenters. It was apparent that he was really into and cared for each of his creatures, and it translated into a really awesome show for everyone present.