Community Corner

July 15, 2011: Masters of Puppets

It's another one of those "holidays.''

1. Weather Bug says expect sunny skies today with highs around 85.

2. On any given day, there is a list of “holidays” in the United States, some popular and others more obscure. There are food holidays, health observances, pet-related holidays, anniversaries and days of remembrance for almost everything under the sun. Strangely enough, we are in the midst of National Ventriloquism Week, (LINK - http://www.brownielocks.com/month2.html) which runs from July 13 to July 16.

3. To celebrate the likes of Edgar Bergen and his sidekick Charlie McCarthy, vaudeville’s the Great Lester as well as Paul Winchell, Jimmy Nelson, Jeff Dunham, Shari Lewis, Willie Tyler and others, visit this interesting website, (LINK - http://www.kimn.net/vent/vent.htm) which details all the major historical landmarks of this artform and has links to various Ventriloquism events.
 
4. In keeping with the puppet theme, an exciting exhibition of over 70 Ballard Institute puppets from around the world is currently on display at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks and will be on view until November. The exhibition, entitled "The World of Puppetry," (LINK - http://bimp.uconn.edu/) fills four cases adjacent to Bradley Airport’s departure gates and includes rod puppets, hand puppets, shadow puppets, oversized masks and marionettes.
 
5. The University of Connecticut Health Center is hosting a selection of shadow figures from the Ballard Institute’s “Epic Shadows: Tolu Bommalata Puppets from Andhra Pradesh” exhibition, (LINK - http://bimp.uconn.edu/) from now until July 27 at the Health Center Hospital Lobby in Farmington. Examples of South Indian shadow puppetry are on display in exhibition cases in the hospital’s lobby and mezzanine. The exhibition is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The UConn Health Center is located at 263 Farmington Avenue in Farmington.
 
In addition, the Ballard Museum of Puppetry (LINK - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ballard-Institute-and-Museum-of-Puppetry/119039334775261) at UConn in Storrs is open to the public Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 12 noon to 5 p.m., or by appointment. Admission is by donation.

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