Campbell was born and raised in Ventura and graduated high school in 2003. After her parents divorced, Campbell had a therapist who made a big difference in her life.
“She taught me when we are serving other people, we are less focused on our own issues,” Campbell said.
When Campbell’s mom, Amy Hammett-Dimmick, decided to move to Sacramento for a fresh start, Campbell joined her. Her mom bought a pizza restaurant business and Campbell worked there.
But she never forgot her dream to own her own business one day.
“My senior project was to create a business,” Campbell said. “I created a company called Pixie Parties and designed it to offer character entertainment for kids parties.”
One of Campbell’s teachers encouraged her since there wasn’t anything like this, but instead she took a break from school and continued to work with her mom at the restaurant. It was there she met her husband to be, Jared Campbell.
“I started to feel I wasn’t doing what I was passionate about,” Campbell said. “I asked myself if I could do anything, what would it be.”
Campbell’s mom had a dream that her blonde-haired daughter would one day work at Disneyland. Campbell went online to look for jobs at Disney, and more specifically, character openings.
“I found out there was an audition the very next day,” Campbell said. “I drove myself down to southern California. I was one of more than a thousand people that were trying for these roles.”
Campbell was called for the next round. Twelve applicants were hired, including Campbell.
“It was a dream come true, and I loved being at Disneyland,” Campbell said. “I would have worked all day because I never wanted to walk away from the kids.”
Campbell’s passion for building relationships and serving others came to the forefront while she was working as princess characters at Disneyland. She even learned sign language so she could communicate with hearing impaired children and adults.
But by the time her first year was over, Campbell had grown tired of the long commute. So, she returned home, got married in 2006 and she and her husband opened their first restaurant in 2008. Their daughter Elle was born in 2009. The following year, their second daughter, Claire, joined the family.
“All my time and energy went into being a wife, mother and business owner,” Campbell said. “I started thinking about the character event business again.”
Campbell, who lives in Centerville, started the Fairy Godmother Events in 2010 and began “creating magical memories with character entertainment.”
Campbell’s cast of characters soon grew to 100, with 60 “cast members” portraying them. The year 2019 was the biggest ever for the Fairy Godmother and then everything changed as 2020 brought the COVID-19 pandemic.
The family pizza restaurant business increased, but in-person character parties became impossible. And since Campbell’s son Everett was born in late 2019, she had a small baby when the pandemic started.
“We had a great staff at the pizza restaurant, and we decided to buy an RV and travel the country,” Campbell said.
After six months of touring 22 states, Campbell said it was harder than they thought it would be, and they were ready to resume their lives. They didn’t expect how much those lives would change.
Campbell’s oldest brother Chris Dimmick, a managing partner at Sueno/Tender Mercy in Dayton, moved to Dayton in 2018 and her other brother Caleb, followed with his family in 2022. Caleb’s move cinched the deal for Campbell and she and Jared sold their restaurant and moved to Dayton in late 2022.
“We didn’t have a big, stressful plan,” Campbell said. “I wanted to take a break from character entertainment to get to know the Dayton community.”
After they arrived, the family enjoyed meeting neighbors and making new friends. And while getting to know Dayton, Campbell discovered a common love of Disney magic.
“I was excited that many local businesses are thrilled to invest in partnerships that bring magic and memory making to their clients,” Campbell said. “We knew if we opened Fairy Godmother Events here, it would grow.”
The business was officially launched in Centerville in 2023, and it immediately surpassed its biggest revenue year in California. And in November of last year, Campbell found a small historical cottage in downtown Centerville that would become the official home of The Fairy Godmother.
The cottage opened in October 2024 and Campbell now has 70 cast members performing as characters ranging from princesses to superheroes. She recently added a coaching arm of her business – “Bippity University” – to teach people how to share magic in their own communities. And this year, she has 100 corporate partners and is on track to increase her business three times over the previous year.
“It’s been amazing,” Campbell said. “I created Fairy Godmother because I am her. I support other people, my community and my family. And this is for me, true magic!”
MORE DETAILS
Visit the website at thefairygodmother.org.
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