Pup-A-Foo-Glee fun

Our second annual Pup-A-Foo-Glee (puppets, food and fun) was a fun-filled sunshiney day, with happy crowds, great volunteers, funny shows, good food and great kids.
The Melikins' show "Dragon Feathers" concluded with a giant Chinese dragon that they made by copying one belonging to the Chinese consulate in Chicago. The staff allowed them to borrow their dragon to copy it. Puppeteers Ginger  and Naomi and 2 audience members helped the dragon dance.

Pup-A-Foo-Glee performers

Don't miss "Dragon Feathers" at 10 a.m. and "Call of the Sea: A Mermaid's Tale" at 1 p.m. followed by our own "Punch and Judy" at 2:30 p.m. Check out the complete schedule for Saturday, May 18, below.

Pup-a-Foo-Glee! May 18

The 2nd annual Pup-a-Foo-Glee! (puppets, food and fun) will be a puppet-filled blast.

10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 18

• 10 a.m.: In the opera house: "Dragon Feathers," by Melikin Puppets, of Bolingbrook, Ill. -- myths, legends and the history of dragons, includes "Stan Bolovan and the Dragon," a Hungarian folk tale; "The Reluctant Dragon," by Kenneth Graham; and "Custard the Dragon," by Ogden Nash. The program will conclude with an authentic Chinese Dragon Dance with selected members of the audience participating and leading us outdoors to:

• 11 a.m.: Across the street:

Lunch by the Hazel Green Lions Club

Activities led by members of the Southwestern Student Council and Fever River Puppeteers board members, including puppet-making, painting and chalk drawing.

• 11:30 a.m.: At the Hazel Green UMC hall (barely a block south) -- theater games by Melissa McGuire.

• 1 p.m.: In the opera house: "Call of the Sea: A Mermaid's Tale," by Ginger Lozar Puppets, of Champaign, Ill.  Pirates, mermaids, and a puzzling dilemma make this tale an entrancing mystery on the high seas! While entertained, young viewers will also learn about ocean life and the mysteries of the sea-conch.

• 2:30 p.m.: In the opera house: "Punch & Judy," a rollicking contemporary (and kind of PC) version of the age-old comedy, by the Fever River Puppeteers. In which Mr. Punch seeks affection from Judy, minds the baby, tricks Joey the clown and battles a Venus Flytrap as well as a crocodile. 

Easter wrapup, awnings and Pup a Foo Glee!

We had wonderful attendance for our 5 Easter performances. Everyone seemed to have fun and we had  lots of new visitors. Our final performance on the Saturday before Easter drew 69 people, which was practically a full house.



Next up: On Saturday, April 13, we will perform "River Critters" at the public library in Wild Rose, Wis., for a spring meeting of the Wisconsin Puppetry Guild.

We finally finished making awnings for the front doors. I thought it would be our New Year's Day project. Ha ha.

Also, with the help of our Fever River Puppeteers board members, we are finalizing plans for

Pup a Foo Glee! (Puppets, Food and Fun), our free event.

Here's what the schedule looks like so far:

• 10 a.m.: "Dragon Tales" by Melikin Puppets of Chicago. The finale is a large Chinese dragon which will parade around the building and (weather permitting) out the door!

• Outdoors and across the street: Concessions by the Hazel Green Lions Club and crafty activities and treats by the Southwestern H.S. Student Council.

• Also, possibly at the UMC Hall nearby or outside, theater games and puppet games

• 1 p.m.: "A Mermaid's Tale," by Lozar Puppets, Champaign, Ill.

• 2:30 p.m.: "Punch and Judy," by the Fever River Puppeteers

Don't forget: It's all free!!! (except for the food. Duh!)

Easter time

Although there is still snow on the ground, we are gearing up for our Easter show.

While trying to bring home Easter breakfast, a father rabbit meets a goose with an egg blockage problem and a pig in a hot air balloon. 

In our marionette production, "The Easter Bunny Story," there is a badger with a country store, a cow, a mother bunny, a cradle-full of baby bunnies, a couple of rascally squirrels and a runaway wolf.

There will be five performances before Easter: 11 a.m.and 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 24, and 11 a.m.and 2 p.m. Saturday, March 30.

Tickets, available one half hour before each performance, are $5 for adults and $4 for children 12 and And don't forget, season tickets (four different shows) are still available at $16 for adults and $12 for children.

Workshop fun

Our 8 budding puppeteers finished their creations Saturday. What wonderful characters they came up with, including an Indian (as in India) dancer, a Swedish girl dressed as St. Lucia, a wizard, a magician and more. It makes me want to do more.

Workshop fun

Eight kids and parent helpers did the first half of the 2-part Toilet Paper Tube Marionette Workshop Saturday. They worked with messy papier mache, cut hands and feet out of cardboard and glued them together and rolled up arms and legs out of those toilet paper tubes.
The real fun will be this coming Saturday when they get to paint faces, glue on hair, assemble the bodies and -- ta da! string their characters to the wooden controls.
i can't wait to see how they all turn out.