The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Today marked the long awaited performance of The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Pepperdine Center for the Arts. I set out with Nana and Spencer for the drive to Malibu a bit later than anticipated. We were a few minutes behind schedule when four or five cars cut me off on the turn into Pepperdine. These cars, we learned from speaking to the security guard at the entrance gate, belonged to paparazzi hoping to train their lenses on Ben Affleck and his family on their way into the performance. We were getting a taste of what celebrities must encounter all the time.

Although we missed the first few minutes of the show, we quickly were captivated by the performance and ended up loving every minute of it. All the children in the room enthusiastically oohed and awed, clapped and talked about what was happening onstage. The performers used black light to create a magical experience for the audience. The puppets were beautifully crafted. The play was just long enough to entertain the children without losing their attention. After the show, the performers (a theater troupe hailing from Nova Scotia) came out to answer a few questions, explain how the puppets were created and show us how they made them move.

As we were waiting to meet up with our friends Pharida, John and Sadie, who should walk through the lobby but Ben Affleck, a very pregnant Jennifer Garner and their daughter. Living in Los Angeles, you never know when you might see someone famous. Today we hit the jackpot. Our celebrity encounters continued later at lunch in Malibu with Sadie and her parents when we noticed surfer Laird Hamilton dining at a table not far from ours. Our brush with celebrity was now complete.