FEATURED EVENTS

They say “birds of a feather flock together” and the 2019 National Puppetry Festival is a time for the community to flock together to acquire new knowledge, preserve puppetry arts, be inspired and invite the community to engage with the art. In this festival we will welcome over 1,000 people to Minneapolis to experience the range of expression in puppetry arts. Attendees will include professional puppeteers, teachers, librarians, therapists, professors, musicians, craftsman, technicians, enthusiastic fans and general audience. Our community is diverse spanning all ages, all races and ethnicities, all socio-economic classes and multiple languages. Everyone is welcome! All different birds coming together creating an eclectic flock.

Speechless Storytellers is based on the beautiful nothing; something raw and incomprehensible can be beautiful and interesting. Twin brothers, Pablo and Efain Del Hierro breath life into "Pan de Plastico", the objects they have created from garbage foam and foam rubber. Using music, gutural sounds, and humor they feed on audience interactions in this somewhat improvisational performance as they manipulate and transform the objects.

Picker Pete sets off on a journey to become a rich and famous banjo picker in the town of Hamlin and meets a host of familiar fairy tale characters along the way. He also saves the town from a herd of hungry roaches. He also meets a band of hillbilly roaches and learns the value of making music with others.

Highland Fest is back and better than ever! We are celebrating our 36th year in the Highland Park neighborhood of Saint Paul. Highland Fest marks summer's mid-point with a place to gather with friends and neighbors and activities for everyone.

We live in an ever-changing uncontrollable reality! At times it becomes difficult to make sense of all that is happening. Anxiety is growing and many people are entirely overwhelmed! To cope with this anxiety we must "Resist the Gloom" and Cornelius the Collector, Eschatologist R.O. a professional realistic optimist is here to help! Concerned with the end of time and the role we humans play in it, Cornelius asks the audience to embark on a journey of discovery that involves a puppet worm manifesto, an exploration of gloom rates, some out of tune singing, a giant flip book, and a series of questions that simply must be considered. A celebration of all that it means to be messy humans, Cornelius and his cohorts will forever attempt to persistently resist the gloom!

Penguin in my Pocket tells the fun-filled and quirky tale of a penguin scientist who crash lands in the jungle when her experimental jetpack fails, and how she works with an artistic monkey to find her way home – encountering a sea monster along the way. It’s a solo show featuring marionettes, rod puppets, audience member puppeteers and live concertina music. The production was supported by a grant from the Jim Henson Foundation.

As seen on Sesame Street and Sprout and live on tour in 2018 with David Blaine, MARIO THE MAKER MAGICIAN is known for his dedication to the Maker Movement and his clever and refreshing integration of DIY electronics and robotics into his performance. His menagerie of handmade props include several autonomous, robotic sidekicks that straddle the words of magic, robotics, and puppetry. It’s vintage meets the future; Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin for the modern age.

The stunning wildflower gardens of Loring Park create an idyllic setting for art, food, music and entertainment. 140 high quality artists circle the large pond in Loring Park. View and purchase one-of-a-kind artwork, listen to music and participate in activities for all ages.