Day of Puppetry Update!

Only 3 1/2 weeks to go before our first Day of Puppetry at the Hazel Green Opera House.

Here, as promised, is the news of our Puppet Playwriting Contest winners AND the finalized schedule of events.

Contest Winners

We have 3 winners -- in no particular order.

Eli Berthel -- "3 Rabbits" . We couldn't resist this one because we already had rabbits from our recent "Tale of Bunny Cotton-Tail."

McKenna Michels -- "The Pirate Who Wanted Treasure." McKenna, whose school made a special trip last year to see last year's winning plays, was inspired by that theme of "Pirates & Mermaids."

Joshua Bloom -- "The Tale of the Green Serpent," an old-fashioned tale of a knight in shining armor who sets out to rescue a damsel in distress.

Eli and McKenna are from Bellevue, Iowa. Joshua is from Platteville.

We had a good assortment of entries this year, including from Cuba City and Bloomington.

And we are working hard on the show as well as on organizing the Day of Puppetry -- with help from our Fever River Puppeteers board members, our friends in the Wisconsin Puppetry Guild and others.

DAY OF PUPPETRY SCHEDULE

Opera House

9-10 a.m. - Meet & greet.  Bake sale w/ coffee & juice by the St. Francis Council of Church Women

10 a.m. - "The Woolly Mammoth," by the Eulenspiegel Puppets, West Liberty, Iowa

UMC Hall (2 short blocks south of HGOH)

11 a.m. - Make & Take Puppet workshop by Pam Corcoran, Stevens Point, Wis. (pre-registration is recommended by calling 608-759-4425, to assure that enough materials are available. Otherwise, first-come, first-served. Parental help is also recommended.)

Noon - Lunch. Concessions by local 4-H group.

Main Street in front of HGOH (blocked off)

1 p.m. - Puppet parade. Giant puppets and medium-sized puppets in a street fair atmosphere. (Rain is simply not an option.)

Opera House

2 p.m. - "Planet Protectors," by Tim Reed, of Milwaukee

Afternoon snack concessions by 4-H group

3 p.m. - "4th Annual Puppet Playwriting Contest Winners" by Fever River Puppeteers

We estimate the festival will end by 3:30 or 3:45.

there will be no set fee for performances and workshop. But freewill donations will be gratefully accepted to help offset the cost of advertising, materials, etc. The festival is being made possible in part by grants from the Grant County Safe & Stable Families and the Wisconsin Puppetry Guild.

Concessions, of course, will be available for prices to be set by the concessionaires.

 

Our aim is to offer a family fun day at low cost, especially for families who are experiencing these tough economic times. And of course, we hope everyone will fall in love with puppets, because that's what we're all about.