The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will once again offer fall community puppet-building workshops to design and build life-size and over-life-size puppets for a new Fancy Frog Festival Puppet Pond Pageant to be performed at the Celebrate Mansfield Festival in Downtown Storrs. These free workshops will take place Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 and 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Ballard Institute, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.
The Fancy Frog Festival Puppet Pond Pageant will explore the life, drama, and complicated relationships that occur in our local ponds. Working together, workshop participants will create over-life-sized masks and puppets representing species found in Connecticut ponds. Workshop participants will be invited to perform the masks and puppets in the community Fancy Frog Festival Puppet Pond Pageant at the 19th annual Celebrate Mansfield Festival on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 24.
No experience is necessary to participate in these free community puppet-building workshops. Space is limited, so advance registration is strongly encouraged. Participants can come for one or both days, but should register for the 10 a.m. to 1p.m. or/and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. time slot(s). Minors must be accompanied by an adult. Masks are recommended but not required. If you require accommodation to participate, contact the Ballard Institute at [email protected] or 860-486-8580.
This community puppet project is sponsored by the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Inc. For more information about the 19th Annual Celebrate Mansfield Festival, visit downtownstorrsfestival.org.