Al Ridenour’s vocations and avocations are diverse and curiously entangled.
His academic background includes BAs with honors in German and English, interests recently combined in the 2016 publication of his second nonfiction book, The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas. His previous book Offbeat Food, Adventures in an Omnivorous World was written in 2000 for Santa Monica Press, after articles contributed to the LA Times, LA Weekly, and New Times Los Angeles caught the attention of the publisher.
Prior to working as a writer, Ridenour had pursued work toward an MFA in animation at UCLA, but was hired out of school before completion of that degree after a screening of his school project attracted attention at a 1989 animation (SIGGRAPH) convention.
While working throughout the 1990s in 3D animation, Ridenour began a sort of parallel career as a producer of underground events of a carnivalesque bent. This began with a leading role in the Cacophony Society, the group responsible for founding the Burning Man festival, and continues to this day with his role as director of Krampus Los Angeles, producer of seasonal festival comprised of parades, plays, art shows, and other events occasionally featuring collaborations with European Krampus enthusiasts.
SOURCE: http://www.alridenour.com/vitae/