October has long been puppet season for me. For many years, it was the time of the year when I was organizing the Black Sheep Puppet Festival, an epic national festival of puppetry performance that happened at the Brew House on the South Side of Pittsburgh (1999 through 2008). The festival was always around Halloween. The puppets were often creepy. The cobwebbed Brew House, in need of major repairs at the time, added to the ambiance.
Flash forward to 2024. Early in the year, the crew at You Are Here Gallery in Jeanette, PA contacted me about participating in a community puppet festival in the small town about 45 minutes southeast of Pittsburgh, near Greensburg. I visited You Are Here and saw the first floor gallery and workshop space on the second floor. The organization is a refreshing burst of arts activity on a small town main street. Mary Briggs, Jen Costello and Natalie Condrac talked about a lineup of festive activities that they were planning for October, culminating in the Jeanette Halloween parade. I agreed to conduct a community puppet making workshop and to exhibit in a gallery exhibition of puppets.
This Saturday October 5th from 6 PM to 8 PM is the opening of the You Are Here exhibition Puppets and Performance. I will be showing an assortment of small puppets. Other exhibitors include D.T. Burns, Sasha Schwartz, Sherri Roberts, Joann Kielar, Maddie Macek, Ayne Terceira and Lindsay Goranson. The show is curated by Natalie Condrac. The show runs through Saturday, November 16th.
I’ll be conducting a two-day workshop in puppet making, Monster Under Your Bed – Community Puppet Making Workshop, on Saturday October 12th at You Are Here Gallery (1 PM to 4 PM) and on Saturday October 19th at Jeanette Library (1 to 4 PM). The workshop is for adults and families with children ten years old and up. Anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult guardian. The workshop is free but preregistration is required. More information about the workshop can be found here.
On Friday, October 25th, You Are Here will be holding Puppet Open Mic Night, with hosts D.T. Burns and Natalie Condrac. Puppet making workshop participants are encouraged to come and perform with their puppets at this event. More information here.
On Wednesday, October 30th, 2024, the Jeanette Halloween Parade takes place, starting at 7 PM on Clay Avenue. I’ve heard this is a wild event and another great opportunity to show off a puppet!
Exploring puppetry is a great way to tell stories, meet new people and get creative. You don’t need special skills to get started. Everyone is invited to check out the activities.
And if you are in Jeanette Wednesday through Sunday before 2pm, I would recommend stopping by Peinetti’s Bakery and coffee shop!
Tom Sarver 