2023 National Puppetry Festival,

About the event

A highly anticipated event for puppeteers and puppet enthusiasts is back in person for the first time since 2019. This July, hundreds of puppeteers and fans will celebrate puppetry at the National Puppetry Festival, presented by Puppeteers of America. The festival will be held at the University of Maryland, Jim Henson’s alma mater. It runs July 18th - July 22nd and is open to the public. Festival registration is currently open, the last day to register is June 28th.
At this immersive professional development and networking experience, participants will explore puppetry through workshops, performances, exhibits, special events, puppet films, a puppet slam, academic symposia, and more! This year, the festival will focus on the theme of Generations by honoring those that went before, celebrating those who are with us now, and encouraging those to come.

Festival Highlights include:
● 30 Live puppetry performances, by award-winning national and international artists
● A special program with Las Vegas legend and America’s Got Talent winner, Terry Fator
● A special tribute honoring Sid Krofft (H.R. PufnStuf, Land of the Lost)
● A bus tour of Jim Henson historical DC sites, with Craig Shemin & Heather Henson
● Workshops from the Jim Henson Foundation and Jim Henson Legacy
● A Puppet Parade on Saturday, July 22nd, free and open to all! Attend a Friday workshop to make a puppet and join
the fun!
● Wonderland Puppet Theater historical exhibit
● The Charm City Cabaret, highlighting local Baltimore and D.C. talent
● Community Days with workshops and special events perfect for the whole family

Why should you sponsor?

A great opportunity to connect and support a niche yet impactful group of professional entertainers whose educational mission to is to share the creative skill benefits with the Mid-Atlantic community. How many people can hang with the Hensons and other well known entertainers.

Dustin Curtis

Puppeteers of America is a national non-profit organization founded in 1937 to provide information, encourage performances, and build a community of people who celebrate puppet theatre. We support puppeteers and advance the art of puppetry by presenting knowledge, providing inspiration and promoting preservation. Knowledge. Inspiration. Preservation.

The specific purpose of Puppeteers of America, Inc. is educational. To instruct the public and raise awareness about puppetry as a means of communication, an extension of human expression, and as a performing art. This includes teaching the community about the importance of puppetry as well as enhancing the proficiency of the Art of Puppetry, both professional and amateur, by publications, educational materials, workshops, forums, conventions, festivals, panels, lectures, advisory services, and all other means and methods.

Puppeteers of America has produced over 160 national and regional festivals to celebrate and share the art of puppetry. The organization publishes the quarterly magazine, The Puppetry Journal. Founded in 1949, The Puppetry Journal provides a continuing chronicle of contemporary puppetry.

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