Pixieland Event Features New Documentary, Aspects of Oregon Coast Legend

Published 08/27/22 at 6:12 AM PST
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Lincoln City) – A new documentary on the Oregon coast's legendary Pixie Kitchen and Pixieland is being celebrated in a unique showing at Lincoln City's Bijou Theatre next week, a little film that's picked up enormous steam since it's been released on YouTube two weeks ago. The Forgotten Story of Pixieland: The Oregon Coast Amusement Park gets its own set of events on Friday, September 2 and Sunday, September 4, where the Kiwanis Club will be bringing you a slight Pixie Kitchen experience at the theater. They'll be in pixie costumes, bringing cardboard cutouts in an amusement park style, reproductions of Pixie Kitchen menus and a lot of other fun and wacky stuff that will take the viewer back in time. (Photos courtesy North Lincoln County Historical Museum)

All of it happens at the Bijou Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. The event is a fundraiser for the local Kiwanis Club, and a container will be set up there for donations, but otherwise it's free to attend. See https://www.cinemalovers.com/.

The film is the work of local documentarian and animator Peter Dibble, who has already done some outstanding work on other Oregon amusement attractions in history. In just two weeks online, and without any fanfare on YouTube, the documentary has snagged an enormous 6,500 views. Now, you get to see the hour-long, distinctive look at Oregon coast history with not only the full theater experience but some unusually fun aspects that revisit the two landmarks.

Dibble told Oregon Coast Beach Connection he'd seen various articles, photos and home movies over the years that helped him gain a better understanding of the story of Pixie Kitchen and Pixieland, thus serving as inspiration.

“I wanted to create something that would explore the story in more depth,” he said.

Indeed he has. The Forgotten Story of Pixieland: The Oregon Coast Amusement Park presents an enormous amount of material about the two wacky attractions and brings them to life, creating something vivid. It utilizes his distinctive, spry animations at times, sewing together stock footage of coastal life of the period and other subjects to turn what would already be a decent narration on them into a lively experience. It's fun, informative and full of joyful memories.

It's the huge array of photos that really give the film a concrete feel, showing incredible detail in the city of Lincoln City and the family operation that ran both attractions.

According to Ed Dreistadt, executive director of Explore Lincoln City, Dribble was shocked at the amount of material he was given from Jeff Syrop at the North Lincoln County Historical Museum, turning what had been intended as maybe a 20-minute piece into something a full hour long.

“We wanted to share it with the town (plus give Kiwanians a look at how some of their members make an appearance) on the big screen,” Dreistadt said.

Dibble said Dreistadt was also a major source of information on the subject.

It took him a few months to complete it, starting in the spring then releasing it in mid August.

“There aren’t a ton of photos of Pixieland online, but I was pleasantly surprised at just how many archived photos and documents the museum had on file that I had never seen anywhere else,” Dibble said. “That’s largely what allowed for the video to be as long as it is. If you don’t have much visual reference to show the viewer, the video can only be so long.”

Also in the mix is Sharon Walters and her husband Howard: she was the daughter of Jerry Parks, owner of Pixieland and Pixie Kitchen, and Howard worked closely with the family as well.

“They were a joy to work with and I’m thankful that they were willing to share some of their family’s story,” Dibble said.

Hotels in Lincoln City - Where to eat - Lincoln City Maps and Virtual Tours

MORE PHOTOS BELOW

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees nearly 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted