Organizers have provided an update on the 27th annual West Liberty Children’s Festival on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13-14.
The festival will not only display the works of West Liberty’s unique Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre, but puppeteers from all over the Midwest, centered around Ron De Voo Park in the main business district area and the Monica Leo stage.
The day’s free children’s events start at 10 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. when the Latinos Unidos festival begins in the same area, carrying into the evening hours with Latino music, dancing and fun.
Youngsters can enjoy all kinds of activities, from creating giant bubbles to riding on a miniature train, making puppets, face painting, crafts, games and painting art, thanks to the West Liberty Area Arts Council. There will also be strolling puppeteers, a wandering balloon creature creator and many other activities. Puppet shows begin at 10 a.m. in Ron De Voo Park, starting with “In the Mirror: Three Tales from Asia,” put together by Monica Leo, the director of the local puppet theatre.
At 11 a.m., Henning Puppet Promotions from Nebraska takes the stage with “Native Stories.”
At noon, “Cirque du Weiner Dog” will be performed by What If Puppets of Kansas City, followed by a 1 p.m. performance of “The Queen of Hearts,” by Pammy Corcoran of Corcoran Puppets of Wisconsin.
Hunter Marianottes of Minneapolis closes the day with a 2 p.m. performance of “Feathers and Strings.”
The two-day festival opens on Friday afternoon and evening, Sept. 13, with pre-festival workshops that will include a class on “needle felting” by returning puppeteer Pam Corocran of Stevens Point, Wis., who will teach youths and adults how to make puppets by needlepoint.
Sandra Wilson, a retired art teacher from Fairfield, Iowa, will show how to make tunnel book stages, while there will also be a free after-school workshop for children at the West Liberty Public Library, 400 North Spencer St., on Friday by Kurt Hunter of Minneapolis, who will teach how to make “adorable marionettes.”
The festival, which is free to all children, is sponsored by the Joseph and Edward Ryan Trust, Sara Sedlacek of Edward Jones Financial Services, Bill and Jan Koellner, Rotary Club of West Liberty, Simpson Memorial Home, the Brooke Family, Cardinal Sign & Graphics, Liberty Communications and Tharp Law Office.
Other sponsors include the Aquarius Club, Craig Jones Trucking, Mike and Gwen Kessler, Wuestenberg Insurance Agency, First Church United, Hills Bank, Yolanda’s Salon, Gretchen Nollman, West Liberty Area Arts Council, West Liberty Lions Club, Henderson-Barker Funeral Home and the West Liberty Index.
Stephanie Vallez, one of the organizers of the festival said there is also a need for volunteers to handle events at the festival while also noted volunteers are needed to clean up Sunday morning.