File spoon-archives/puptcrit.archive/puptcrit_1999/puptcrit.9908, message 80


From: Evy500-AT-aol.com
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 01:27:00 EDT
Subject: PUPT: Exposing Ourselves to the Public


It's true, the public was not able to see shows at the National festival, but 
anyone can buy tickets to the Henson festival. 

One of my favorite things about the Seattle festival, however, was the very 
public Giant Puppet Parade on Friday afternoon. (Wish I could have fit my 
giant puppets into my suitcase, don'tchaknow.) First of all, you have to 
realize that the University of Washington campus was absolutely beautiful and 
that the weather cooperated better than I'm sure the organizers of the parade 
could have hoped for. 

I hope that somebody posts pictures of this event, because it truly was a 
feast for the eyes. The parade started at the student union and traveled 
around the campus to the "quad." Lots of lucky Seattlites watched and 
cheered. The giant puppets included: two birds, several colorful people, a 
skeleton, and many more that I can't remember at 1:00 AM. They were 
accompanied by stilt walkers, dancers, guild banners, children, puppets, and 
of course HRH Bernice, Queen of Pot Pourri, in her royal chariot! (Did ANYONE 
get out of the festival without bending down to kiss the Queen on the 
forehead?) 

But, most enjoyable for me was the music. The Festival of the Millennium band 
jammed from one end of campus to the other, and Sogolon, the fantastic 
puppet/dance/drumming group from Mali, Africa, treated us to an encore of 
their contagious rhythms and their giant puppets. You would not believe how 
much dancing inside of a giant puppet can be done without crashing into 
things by these guys! There was even a puppet costume with drums built into 
the "belly."

The parade culminated in a big circle at the Punch and Judy Faire, a 
smorgasbord of Punch and Judy shows all with lawn seats. Interspersed on the 
lawn was the flea market where festival participants and the general public 
could buy all sorts of puppet goodies, some of which were puppetry store 
items sold at a discount for those of us who either held out or were 
impossibly indecisive. (I saved $5 on a great T-shirt from the Phoenix 
Puppetry Guild - it's bright yellow and says "Puppeteer" on the back. They 
come in all sorts of colors and you can order them from the guild!) Business 
was brisk, according to one saleswoman who told me that she split the $25 
table fee with another puppeteer. They completely sold out and each made over 
$200.00.

The whole afternoon was incredible fun and the public ADDED to the 
atmosphere. Three cheers to whomever came up with this idea in the first 
place.

Evy


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