WISH DOCTOR : At the Harvest Festival, He’ll Help Make Your Dreams Come True

Most major league fairy tales share a common theme. The particulars vary, but somewhere along the line you’ll find a downtrodden hero or heroine magically transformed with the help of some ethereal being. Whether it’s Cinderella’s fairy godmother or Aladdin’s genie, the message is the same:

If you really want your wish to come true, call in a consultant.

William Bacon, a.k.a. “The King of Imagination,” may fill the bill. Festooned in brilliant robes and standing beneath his glittering “staff of wishes,” Bacon has spent much of the last five years helping complete strangers define and, he hopes, fulfill their dreams.

Southern Californians can meet Bacon for the first time at the 1992 Harvest Festival, a touring arts and crafts event that features more than 350 artisans selling and demonstrating their crafts, as well as a lineup of family-oriented entertainment including singer Maria Muldaur (remember “Midnight at the Oasis”?), the Zydeco Party Band and the Rio Thing, a Brazilian music and dance troupe.

The Harvest Festival’s 20th anniversary tour makes the first of several stops in our area Saturday through Monday, at the Long Beach Convention Center (see box on Page 12 for a Southern California tour schedule).

A resident of tiny Port Costa, Calif., Bacon has served as the “official greeter” at Bay Area events ranging from San Francisco Ballet performances to Santana concerts. As he described it during a recent phone interview, his purpose is a simple one: He encourages young and old to acknowledge and fine-tune their wishes, and through that process, begin to reach their goals.

“I want to appeal to that sense of wonder that makes people realize that there is something bigger outside themselves, and that it’s something they can tap into through wishes and dreams,” he said. “I want to make them think about what’s most important in their heart.”

All of this may seem a bit heady, especially to families struggling with the daily realities of jobs, peer pressure and mortgage payments. After all, most of us go to these crafts things looking for handmade goodies and a little family fun, not a spiritual experience, right?

Bacon recognizes his entertainment value, noting that most people are drawn to him by his colorful (some might say outrageous) costumes. Crafted largely from flea-market finds and castoffs (“I’m the ultimate recycler,” he quips), his ornate garb is influenced by Russian Orthodox vestments and the ceremonial garb of Alaska’s Tlingket Indians, and change with the seasons.

Posted beneath his nine-foot-tall “staff of wishes,” a hand-carved walking stick topped by a crown of fluttering “WindWands” streamers (items he creates and sells to anyone “who needs a little extra magic to go home”), Bacon said he considers himself a sort of living sculpture, to be enjoyed by all ages.

“I want people to remember the fun (of their encounter) first,” he said. “But ultimately it’s my hope that I can awaken something in them that has been put to sleep through the trauma of everyday living.”

A self-professed “Gnostic seeker,” Bacon says his thoughts about wishes and their importance to the individual and the community come from several sources, including the writings of mythology scholar Joseph Campbell, Barbara Scher’s book “Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want,” and the social structure of the Tlingkets, a tribe he observed while living with his missionary parents in Sitka, Alaska.

Despite these heavy influences, Bacon’s encounters with young children sound downright common-sensical. And considering his unique presence, he may leave a stronger impression on a child than a parent delivering the same message.

What: The Harvest Festival.

When: Saturday, Sept. 5, through Monday, Sept. 7. Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Monday till 6 p.m.

Where: The Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.

Whereabouts: Follow the Long Beach (710) Freeway south till it ends at Shoreline Drive. Follow the signs to Linden Avenue, then turn left into the center parking lot.

Wherewithal: $3 to $6. Children 6 and under are free. $1-off coupons available at some Lucky supermarkets. Visitors are invited to bring canned food for the L.A. Regional Food Bank. Parking is $5.

Where to call: (310) 436-3636.

LONG BEACH HARVEST FESTIVAL

ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE BOX

Saturday, Sept. 5 The Zydeco Party Band, 10:15 a.m., 1:45 p.m. Lee Zimmerman’s Marionettes, 11:30 a.m., 5 p.m. Maria Muldaur, noon, 3 p.m. Chad Taylor, comic juggler, 1:15 p.m. The Rio Thing, Brazilian pop, 4, 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 6 The Zydeco Party Band, 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. Chad Taylor, 11:30 a.m. Maria Muldaur, noon, 3:30 p.m. The Rio Thing, 1, 4:45 p.m. Lee Zimmerman’s Marionettes, 2 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 7 The Rio Thing, 10:30 a.m., 1:45 p.m. Lee Zimmerman’s Marionettes, 11:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m. The Zydeco Party Band, 12:15, 3:15 p.m. Chad Taylor, 1:15, 4:30 p.m. Roving entertainers will include Campanile, a jazz bell-ringing group; one-man band B.V. Dobbs, and magician Larry Cason. “Official Greeter” William Bacon will be in the main lobby. All shows are included with admission price, and the performance schedule is subject to change.

HARVEST FESTIVAL

‘92 TOUR BOX

Southern California dates: Long Beach: Sept. 5-7 * Riverside: Oct. 2-4 Ventura: Oct. 9-11 +, * San Diego: Oct. 9-11 +, Oct. 16-18 * Los Angeles: Nov. 6-8 Pasadena: Nov. 13-15 Costa Mesa: Nov. 20-22 * Anaheim: Nov. 27-29 * Pomona: Dec. 4-6 *

Billed as the country’s largest indoor retail arts and crafts marketplace, the Harvest Festival will present 22 shows in five states through Dec. 6 (+ indicates that the show splits to two sites Oct. 9-11, with exhibitors in Ventura and San Diego.) Items on display will include woodcarvings, jewelry, ceramics, toys and hand-painted clothing; regional foods will be sold. Entertainers and artisans will vary by location (* indicates sites to be presided over by William Bacon, a.k.a. “The King of Imagination”). For information, call the Harvest Festival’s main office, (707) 778-6300.