The carpeted floor of the Vidiots main theater was strewn with popcorn and dozens of children and their families gathered around the puppet show. Music plays from the speakers as a puppet named "Yellow Cat" (really a yellow cat) jumps and spins on the floor.

Vidiots is a historic theater in Northeast Los Angeles just a few miles from the fires still burning in the Altadena and Pasadena neighborhoods. Vidiots has teamed up with the nearby Bob Baker Marionette Theater to offer families and parents a way out of the disaster.

Diego Montoya, Yellow Cat's puppet master, said: "The purpose of this show is to bring some comfort to families and give them a chance to do something fun and silly. Sit back and get away from the world. of chaos.” Vidiots also screened movies and handed out pajamas and coloring books. Many of the families who attended the free event earlier this week fell victim to the fires in some way — some lost their homes, others lost their children to school.

Three-year-old Leo Bain is one of the audience members at the puppet show. Part of his school was destroyed in the Eton Fire, so the event was a welcome diversion for Leo and his mother, Tania Verafield.

"I think it was the only two hours that I wasn't constantly checking my phone and trying to get updates, and I felt some relief when I saw my son giggling (as he watched) these amazing puppets," Wei said Raffield said.

Schools in the Pasadena and Altadena areas are mostly closed as the fires continue to burn. The YMCA and local authorities are providing child care, but places are filling up quickly, leaving the burden of childcare falling on many families. Many people told me that they relied on each other to get through this time.

"People don't know Los Angeles. It's an amazing community," Ursula Knudsen said. Both of her children lost their school in the fire, and her younger daughter saw the school engulfed in flames as she evacuated with her father. Their home was also severely damaged.

"Altadena doesn't need a tragedy to come together as a community. That's crazy. It just happens 100 times more often," Knudson said.

Knutson and her friend Kate Mallor brought puppets, movies and even a 6-foot-tall mobile giraffe mascot to the free event, which also affected her children's school due to the fire. Severely damaged. “It’s so beautiful to see other moms here, see our classmates and be able to hug,” Marlowe said.

The puppet show in the main theater came to an end with the finale. Puppeteer Montoya said it was no coincidence that the yellow cat was dancing to Barbra Streisand's "Don't Let It Rain on My Parade."

"It sends a great message, you know, 'Don't rain on my parade, I'm going to have a great time no matter what,'" Montoya said. "'I'm going to do things that bring me joy.'"

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