Turning 60: Lovable Clay Creation Gumby To Celebrate Wholesome Fun at Citrus

Sept. 18 is right around the corner and Citrus College will soon be animation central as the 2nd Annual Gumbyfest returns.

The festival, which runs from Friday, September 18 to Sunday, Sept. 20, will feature guest speakers who have worked in the animation and film industries, as well as a Gumby Museum with original stop-motion puppets and sets spanning the show’s 60-year history.

Admission to Gumbyfest is free.

Most of the festival’s events will take place in the Performing Arts Center complex, which includes the 1,400-seat Haugh Performing Arts Center, the Little Theater, rehearsal halls, computer labs, dance studio and more.

The Gumby Museum is just one of the free features leading up to Gumbyfest and is being showcased in the Hayden Memorial Library Art Gallery until October 16.

Attendees can also enjoy free screenings of “Gumby” as well as “Davey and Goliath” episodes, the latter show was also produced by the studio of Gumby creator Art Clokey.

Every attendee is invited to the special Gumby Birthday Bash and Awards Ceremony Sept. 19, which will also feature an awards ceremony for the stop-motion animation contest.

Attendees can also enjoy free panels hosted by leaders in the stop-motion animation, Emmy Award-winning production designers and puppet makers. View the entire list of free panels here.

Some presentations require a ticket, which can be purchased on the Citrus College Haugh Performing Arts Center website.

Some of the ticketed events include hands-on workshops in flip book animation, hand painting ceramic Gumby artwork, screen printing, sculpting clay figures on a wire frame armature and more.

Tickets for all Haugh presentations are $10 per adult and $5 per child. Limited Edition All-Access Passes are available for $25 (one day) and $40 (two days).

Art studio workshop tickets are $5.

Fees collected will benefit students of Citrus College’s Visual Arts Department through the Citrus College Foundation.

For more information, visit gumbyfst.net, or call the Haugh Performing Arts Center at (626) 963-9411, Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m to 4 p.m