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Local Puppeteers Win Global Art Grant for Knoxville’s First Giant Puppet Parade

By Rachel Milford, Co-Founder, Cattywampus Puppet Council –

Cattywampus Puppet CouncilCattywampus Puppet Council  has been awarded a prestigious Burning Man Global Art Grant to help produce the Appalachian Puppet Pageant as part of the 2017 Dogwood Arts Festival. The Pageant will take place on Saturday, April 29th, and preparations are already underway.

The Appalachian Puppet Pageant is an East Tennessee inspired community puppet parade. It  will bring together members of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate the ecology and culture of the region through visual and performance art, and feature puppets up to 12 feet tall. Community members will craft individual and collaborative pieces, and create a living, breathing art exhibit in the streets of Knoxville. Participation in the parade is free and open to people of all ages.

To prepare for the Appalachian Puppet Pageant, Cattywampus is holding a series of free workshops on giant puppet construction, and interest has been so overwhelming that the first two have reached capacity. An additional workshop has been added for March 9 at the Muse Knoxville for interested individuals and community groups. Resources for learning how to build giant puppets for the parade can also be found on the Cattywampus Puppet Council website. The group is also looking for volunteers for the day of the parade, as well as donations of supplies and financial support. Information about donating or getting involved with the parade is available on the group’s website.

Cattywampus Puppet Council was founded in 2014 by local artists Rachel Milford and Shelagh Leutwiler. They are a registered non-profit corporation in the state of Tennessee and are fiscally sponsored through Community Shares. The mission of Cattywampus is to build community and promote play through the puppetry arts. They do this through creating original shows, workshops, and puppet parades, involving members of the community of all ages and backgrounds. Their goal is to foster dialogue, laughter, wonder, and healing along the way. More information about Cattywampus is available at www.cattywampuspuppetcouncil.com.