Holyoke Canal District Winter Festival

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The Holyoke Canal District Winter Festival is 2/12- 2/14, and there are lots of great activities for the whole family all through the weekend! Check out the full schedule of events here. 
We'll be at the Artisan Market on Sat. 2/13, and will perform a few short pop-up shows through out the day while we're there! Hope you are able to come out and see us, and enjoy this great community event!

Just So Stories on 1/2 and 1/3

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We are performing Just So Stories at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art this coming weekend on 1/2 and 1/3. Here are the details, hope you are able to join us!

 January 2, 2016
11:00am and 1:00pm 
January 3, 2016
1:00pm 
Tickets $5 ($4.50 Museum Members)

 Call 413-658-1126 to purchase tickets.

 Just So Stories

 Enjoy these three tales of mischief and magic that tell how some of your favorite animals came to be. Join us for silly adaptations of How the Camel Got His Hump, How the Rhino Got His Skin, and The Beginning of the Armadillos.




Pied Piper is returning to the Puppet Showplace Theater!

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We are excited to be heading back to the Puppet Showplace Theater in September to perform The Pied Piper of Hamelin! Shows will be 1pm & 3pm on Sept. 12th and 13th, you can get tickets and more info on the Showplace's website here.

 The Pied Piper of Hamelin

The town of Hamelin has a rat problem, and there's only one person who can help! CactusHead Puppets brings the story of the Pied Piper to life with a cast of colorful characters in this comedic adaptation of the traditional folktale. Not only does the town find a musical solution to pest control, but the kids of Hamelin also teach the grownups a lesson about generosity. In the end, the townspeople all come together in celebration. This production features multiple puppetry styles, a silly hat contest, and plenty of dancing rats!




Little Red Riding Hood and Pied Piper Performances this Week!

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We are excited to have several shows this week!

First, we will be performing Little Red Riding Hood on Weds. 7/29 at 11am at the Springfield Museums.  This performance is free with admission to the museum! Visit the museum's website for more info: http://www.springfieldmuseums.org/
- Note: There is an error on the museum website calendar that lists our performance as 7/30, but it is on 7/29. 


Little Red Riding Hood's anxious mother sends her off into the woods with some treats for her dear old grandmother, but to get home safely she and her grandmother will have to outsmart the Big Bad Wolf.  Are Little Red and Grandmother in trouble, or has the wolf bitten off more than he can chew? Join CactusHead Puppets for their modern adaptation of this classic story, told with hand puppets and shadow puppets. 


Then we will have performances of The Pied Piper of Hamelin at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art on Sat. 8/1 and Sun. 8/2! Here are the showtimes and ticket info for those dates:
August 1, 2015
11:00am

 August 2, 2015
1:00pm and 3:00pm
Tickets $5, call 413-658-1126 to purchase.


The town of Hamelin has a rat problem, and there's only one person who can help! CactusHead Puppets bring the story of the Pied Piper to life with a cast of colorful characters in this comedic adaptation of the traditional folktale. Not only does the town find a musical solution to pest control, but the kids of Hamelin also teach the grownups a lesson about generosity. In the end, the townspeople all come together in celebration. Join puppeteers John and Megan Regan as they present this classic tale, told with multiple puppetry styles, and plenty of dancing rats!

Little Red Riding Hood performances on 4/21

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We have two  performances of Little Red Riding Hood at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art coming up during MA school vacation week on April 21st!

Show times are 11am and 2pm on the 21st. Tickets are $5 each, and can be purchased over the phone at 413-658-1126.


Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood's anxious mother sends her off into the woods with some treats for her dear old grandmother, but to get home safely she and her grandmother will have to outsmart the Big Bad Wolf.  Are Little Red and Grandmother in trouble, or has the wolf bitten off more than he can chew? Join CactusHead Puppets for their modern adaptation of this classic story, told with hand puppets and shadow puppets.


Hope you can join us for this fun show!

Upcoming Shows and Booking for Fall!

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It's hard to believe it's already September, but we have lots of exciting things coming up to look forward to!

Saturday, 9/13 we will be performing The Tale of Juan Bobo at the Springfield Museums as part of their LittleFest. Our shows will be at 11:30 and 1:45, and a schedule of all the great events that day can be found here. It looks like all the events are included in museum admission that day, and if you are Springfield resident, WGBY, or Springfield Museum member, its free!



We are also now booking for shows for the fall and winter! If you would like to have us come and perform at your location, please email cacusheadpuppets@gmail.com for info about pricing and availability.  You can choose from any of our touring shows, and we also offer puppet making workshops that can stand alone or be booked along with a show. You can learn more about all the shows we offer here.

The last bit of news is that for our next new show, we are actually remaking our first show, The Pied Piper of Hamelin! It will be a little longer, have more scenery, more puppets, and of course more RATS! The show will premiere in Jan. 2015 at the Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, MA and then be available to tour. Check back here soon for more info about how we are creating this new and improved show.




Bremen Town Musicians Sneak Peek!

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Our new show, The Bremen Town Musicians, opens next week. Its going to be a really fun show, and seeing some puppet theater is a great way to spend a day during spring break!
Tickets are on sale now, here is all the info:

 The Bremen Town Musicians
CactusHead Puppets tells the classic tale of a donkey, dog, cat, and rooster who set off on a journey together to start new lives as musicians, and the exciting adventures they have along the way.

Performances at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA
Wednesday, April 23 through Friday, April 25
11:00 am and 2:00 pm
Saturday, April 26, 2014
11:00 am and 1:00 pm
$5 (Members $4.50); Museum Admission extra

 Order tickets by phone at 413-658-1126.

 We are using both shadow puppets and rod puppets in this show, and have some quick pictures of the rod puppets to share.






Check back for more pictures from the show soon, including the shadow puppets. Hope to see you at one of the shows!

Aug 2-4 Performances of Just So Stories

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This week, Friday Aug. 2 - Sunday Aug. 4, we will be performing Just So Stories at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA! On Friday and Saturday show times are 11am and 1pm,  and on Sunday they are 1pm and 3pm. Tickets are $5 each, and you can purchase them at the door or over the phone at 413-658-1126. 

 Our show includes silly adaptations of three of the classic stories by Rudyard Kipling, How the Camel Got His Hump, How the Rhino Got His Skin, and The Beginning of the Armadillos. We also use three types of puppets, hand puppets, rod puppets, and shadow puppet, so you get to see a great mix of puppets in this show. Here are a few pictures to give you a little preview:



You can also check out this post from when we were building the show.
Looking forward to seeing you at the show!

July 21st Performances of Little Red Riding Hood

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We will be performing one of our favorite shows, Little Red Riding Hood, this Sunday, July 21st, at 1pm & 3pm, at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. Tickets are $5 each, and you can purchase them at the door or over the phone at 413-658-1126. 

 Here are a few pictures from the show. We do our own silly adaptation of the story using hand and shadow puppets.



Hope you are able to come! A puppet show and visit to the museum is are great ways to spend your day when its too hot to be out.


Photos by Kristin Angel

The Tale of Juan Bobo Performance Dates

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We have set the dates and times for our Latino Folktales show this spring, which is going to be be The Tale of Juan Bobo! Here are the details:

The Tale of Juan Bobo
April 17 - April 20, 2013
11:00 am and 2:00 pm 
At the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA
Tickets $5
Meet Juan Bobo! He always tries to do the right thing, but often makes mistakes. For Juan even the smallest task can lead to the silliest of results. But can Juan Bobo's seemingly foolish actions end up saving the day? Join CactusHead Puppets as they bring this classic Puerto Rican folktale to life and decide for yourself.

Mark your calendars! These performances are during the April school vacation week, and would be a fun activity to include in your vacation.

After these performances are over, The Tale of Juan Bobo will also be available for touring shows. Please contact us via email if you are interested in a performance at your location.




Upcoming Shows and Booking for Fall!

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 We are now booking shows for the fall, and already have a couple of performances on the schedule to share with you!

9/29/2012- The Emperor's New Clothes, 2pm, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
12/26/2012- The Emperor's New Clothes, 11am & 2pm, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amhest, MA 

If you are interested in having us come perform at you location, please email us at cactusheadpuppets@gmail.com for more information. All four of our shows, The Pied Piper, Just So Stories, Little Red Ridding Hood, and The Emperor's New Clothes, are available and we also offer puppet making workshops. You can read more about the shows on our Current Touring Shows page.

One More Day of Pied Piper Shows

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Tomorrow, Fri. Aug. 10th,  is our last day of Pied Piper performances at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA. The shows are at 11:30am and 2 pm. Tickets are still available for both show times, so if you are looking for something fun to do tomorrow, come on by!
We have had a lovely time performing there this week, and a fantastic time touring this summer. In the next few weeks we will be adding fall touring dates to our schedule, announcing our next new show, and sharing another thing or two that we are working on, so check back soon!

More Pied Piper Show Times!

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We have added a few more show times to our upcoming week of Pied Piper performances at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art! Our schedule is now:

1pm on Sunday 8/5
11:30 am & 2pm on Monday 8/6
2pm on Tuesday 8/7
2pm on Wednesday 8/8
2pm on Thursday 8/9
11:30 am & 2pm on Friday 8/10

 Tickets are $5, and you can buy them at 413-658-1126. Hope these added times allows more people to see the show!

CactusHead Puppets Summer Schedule

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Hope everyone's summer has started off great! We have several performances lined up this summer, and and we are excited to be going to several new places.

We will be performing Little Red Riding Hood on Sunday July 8th and Sunday July 22nd at 1pm each day at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. Tickets are $5, and you can pre-order them at 413-658-1126. 

Then we are back at the Eric Carle Museum August 6-10 performing The Pied Piper at 2pm each day. Tickets are $5 for these shows too, and they can be purchased at 413-658-1126.

We also have several performances at libraries coming up. Check the list to see if we are going to be near you, and then contact the library to find out how to register to attend.
7/11/2012 - The Emperor's New Clothes, 6:30 pm, Woodbridge Town Library, Woodbridge, CT
7/13/2012- The Pied Piper, 10am Norwalk Public Library in Norwalk, CT
7/25/2012- The Emperor's New Clothes, 10:30am, Enfield Public Library, Enfield, CT
7/25/2012- The Pied Piper, 6:30 pm, Goshen Public Library, Goshen, CT
7/26/2012- Little Red Ridding Hood, 10 am Southington Public Library & Museum, Southington,CT

Hope to see you at our shows!

Tickets for Dec.'s Just So Stories now on Sale!

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Tickets for our performances of Just So Stories at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA are now available. The shows are Dec. 27th and 28th at 2pm each day. Tickets are $5 each, and you can purchase them by calling 413-658-1126. It is a fun show, and a great idea if you are looking for something to do during the winter vacation!

Here is a little more info and pictures from the show.

Just So Stories

Enjoy these three tales of mischief and magic that tell how some of your favorite animals came to be. Join us for silly adaptations of How the Camel Got His Hump, How the Rhino Got His Skin, and The Beginning of the Armadillos.




Hope to see you at one of the shows!

Little Red Ridding Hood Show Pictures

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Our Little Red Riding Hood performances went very well! It is a very fun show to perform, and our audiences really enjoyed it too. We have a few pictures taken during the show to share, so that if you missed it you can see what the puppets look like in action. We are also adding Little Red Riding Hood to our list of touring shows, so please contact us if you think you would like us to come perform at your location!



Little Red with her basket.


Mom on the phone with Grandma.


Red meets the Wolf for the first time.


Red discovers the Wolf in Grandma's house.


Little Red and Grandma set their trap.


Then they capture their wolf!

Photos by Kristin Angel

Pied Piper on June 18th!

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We will be performing The Pied Piper Sat. June 18th @ 1pm at the West Springfield, MA. Celebrate The Arts festival, which takes place at Landmark @ Monastery Heights, Monastery Ave. If the weather is bad the festival will be at Grace Lutheran church, Westfield Street in West Springfield. It should be a fun day with all kinds of great activities!