Families gathered together at the Belle Haven Library for “Save the Day for Snail,” the final show of Menlo Park’s ninth annual summer puppetry festival on Sunday. The summer puppetry festival has been going on throughout the summer, starting on June 15. Led by Lisa Lenore, the artistic director of Possibly Puppets, the show provided many memorable, interactive experiences for the young audience.
Possibly Puppets uses recycled and old materials, including clothing, to make puppets for 14 different shows. “Most of what I do is materials-led, so I had a box [of] old cable knit sweaters labeled for years, ‘Someday this will be a snail or slug’,” Lenore said. Eventually, after some planning, those sweaters turned into a snail puppet.
The event opened with Lenore greeting everyone and introducing the puppet snails, Dusty and Gladsy. With more people still trickling into the room, Lenore kept the youthful audience engaged by instructing the kids to make wind sounds anytime the story mentioned gusts.
Children also enjoyed completing tasks that contributed to the storyline. “[The best part was] probably the interactive part where the kids can go and interact with the puppets,” an anonymous parent said.
Lenore also asked questions about which animals lived in the grass, then made hand signs or sounds to represent each animal.
Lenore expanded on Gladsy’s story, emphasizing how her community came together to help her as audience members gathered to rebuild her shell.
“It’s a good time for kids to get together and do something outside of just playing in the playground. And [the puppet show is] educational. I think they’re super important for the community,” the anonymous parent said.
The event concluded with Lenore walking around with Dusty so that the kids could pet it. If the students didn’t get a chance to pet the snail the first time around, they were welcome to come up afterward and touch it.
