The eighth annual New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival returns for a five-day celebration of the ancient, innovative, and wildly diverse puppet art form April 7-11. The giant puppet festival will host local, national and international artists with children. friendly, adult-only shows from daytime until late at night in several venues.

Venues for 2022 include the Mudlark Public Theater at 1200 Port Street, the Happyland Theater at 3126 Burgundy Street, the Twilight Theater at Allways at 2240 St. Claude Avenue, and the newly renovated Art Space at 2120 Port Street.

Puppet artists include Night Shade from Portland, Oregon; ToyBox Theater in Asheville, North Carolina; The Rasputin Puppets of Los Angeles; Huge New York Face; Cookie Tongue from Brooklyn, New York; Nate Puppets of Cleveland, Ohio; and H. Gene Thompson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Local favorites include The Mudlark Puppeteers, Harry Mayronne, Flutterbug and Scribbles, Poose The Puppet and Puerto Rican native Poncili Creacion.

Weekend parties feature Puppet Slams hosted by ToyBox, America’s favorite cartoon witch, back at the Mudlark Public Theatre. The weekend days will include two puppet workshops, Object Narrative and Flashlight & Shadows, hosted by Abandoned Ships, and a panel discussion entitled “What Isn’t a Puppet?” as well as a brunch hosted by Enormous Face.

A parade of giant puppets will take place on Saturday April 9, lining up at the Mudlark Theatre.

The festival website includes the full program, presales and links to festival packages. Tickets can be purchased in advance or cash only at the door of each venue at the price of $10-$20, sliding scale at the door for adults and $5-$10 suggested for children under 12 years. An all-access pass can be purchased for $100.

Proof of vaccine and masks are required for all indoor events. For more information, go here.