POUGHKEEPSIE, NY: The Arts Mid-Hudson Folk Arts Program and Paper Heart Puppets bring the second Hudson Valley Puppetry Festival to the Mid-Hudson region from March 22 until April 26, 2025. The Festival will feature events in Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster counties. For more information: https://www.artsmidhudson.org/hvpf

The Festival opens Saturday, March 22 with “A Day of Puppetry” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Academy, 33 Academy St, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 (plenty of free parking across the street). This family-friendly event features puppet theaters from around the region sharing puppets, explaining puppet mechanics, and make-and-take activities for all. This event is part of the celebrations for the International Day of Puppetry. Puppetry theaters for the Day of Puppetry include Paper Heart Puppets, Artistree, Up in Arms, Cactus Head Puppets, Arm of the Sea, The Chrysalis Puppet Theater Workshop, and more.

On the evening of March 22 at 7 p.m. join the Uncanny Valley Puppet Slam at The Ritz Theater | 107 Broadway, Newburgh, NY for a Puppetry Slam, an adults-only event along the lines of a poetry slam. Tickets: $15 online, $20 at the door. For more information: https://safe-harbors.org/

The Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum hosts the “Magnificent Monster Circus” performance by CactusHead Puppets on March 23 at 2 p.m.. The museum’s address is 75 N Water St, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. Tickets: $5 for museum members and $8 for non-members. For more information: https://mhdm.org/

On March 25, 2025, Up in Arms will present “Waffle and Friends” from 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. at Cornwall Public Library, 395 Hudson St., Cornwall, NY 125818. It is a free family-friendly event. Registration is required: https://www.cornwallpubliclibrary.org/events/farmers-market-story-time-10/

The Howland Cultural Center brings Paper Heart Puppets “Cardboard Explosion” on Saturday, March 29, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 477 Main St, Beacon, NY. It is a free family-friendly event. Registration is required: http://www.howlandculturalcenter.org/

Alice Beal “Allelu” Kurten was an internationally known puppeteer who attended Vassar College (class of 1952) and settled in Hyde Park for many years. She was active with the Beatrix Farrand Garden locally, as the General Secretary of the American chapter of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA-USA), and the Jim Henson Foundation board. The Hudson Valley Puppetry Festival honors Allelu’s memory with a retrospective exhibit at Hyde Park Library Annex, opening on April 3, 2025, with a reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibit will run through the end of May at 4 Main Street Hyde Park, NY 

Get some “Monster Intelligence” from Up In Arms on Saturday, April 5, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Newburgh Free Library, 124 Grand St, Newburgh, NY . Registration required: https://newburghlibrary.libcal.com/event/13835693

On April 12, 2025, take a walk down memory lane with a 2 p.m. viewing of Jim Hensen’s “The Frog Prince” followed by a talk with Dov Manley of Up In Arms and a puppet-making workshop with Brad Shur of Paper Heart Puppets, at Upstate Films in Saugerties, 156 Main St, Saugerties, NY 12477. Pay what you like. https://www.upstatefilms.org/

Join Brad Shur of Paper Heart Puppets for a workshop at Millbrook Library, 3 Friendly Ln, Millbrook, NY 12545, on Wednesday, April 16th at 4:00 p.m. To register: https://engagedpatrons.org/Events.cfm?SiteID=1129

Ulster County folks (and beyond) can share a morning of puppetry with Paper Heart Puppets on April 19th, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Ellenville Public Library, 40 Center St, Ellenville, NY 12428. Registration required: https://eplm.org/

Throughout the festival, three puppet exhibits will be on view along Main Street in Poughkeepsie. The former Hudson Valley Office Furniture building will have “Puppets in the Windows” at 379 Main Street. The Trolley Barn, 489 Main Street, features “Parade Puppets” the larger-than-life puppets used for La Guelaguetza, Sinterklass, and from the artist, Suprina Sculpt. The Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory (8 North Cherry Street) hosts “Puppetry Around the World”, a poster exhibit. 

The 2025 Hudson Valley Puppetry Festival closes with two events on Saturday, April 26th, 2025, the National Day of Puppetry. There will be a closing reception from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory, 8 N Cherry St, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. There will be a 9:30 am tour of the exhibits along Main Street starting at the Puppets in the Windows (379 Main Street), moving on to Parade Puppets at the Trolley Barn, and ending with Puppetry Theaters of the Hudson Valley at the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory. A second tour will take place at 1 p.m. starting at the Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory and ending at Puppets in the Window. Coffee and pastries will be available for purchase from Reconnect. 

Adults can finish the festival and the day at the Stissing Center for Arts and Culture (2950 Church St, Pine Plains, NY) with the Hudson Valley Puppet Slam on April 26, 2025, at 7:00?PM. The slam showcases 90 minutes of short, indie-style puppetry for adults, featuring humorous, unconventional, and thought-provoking performances by Hudson Valley artists with a DIY spirit. Ticket prices are $27 to $37 and can be purchased here: https://www.thestissingcenter.org/events-list/uncanny-valley-puppet-slam-2025

Arm of the Sea will perform throughout April at venues around the region. For more information: https://www.armofthesea.org/see-a-show

The Hudson Valley Puppet Festival 2025 is partially funded by a grant from the Robert R. Chapman Fund of the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley, a grant from the Ann and Abe Efron Fund of the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley, and a Cook/Marks Fund Grant. 

Brad Shur is the founder and lead artist of Paper Heart Puppets, based in Poughkeepsie, New York. For over twenty years, Brad has been creating and touring original puppetry productions that combine ancient traditions with innovative ways of connecting with audiences using puppets of all sizes, materials, and disciplines.

Up In Arms prides itself in presenting quality shows in a fun, family musical style. We create engaging soundscapes with professional voice actors in the studio and perform our shows with professional puppeteers. While including current curriculum standards, the shows play well from an elementary school assembly program to a main-stage theater show. 

CactusHead Puppets was started in 2010 by married couple John and Megan Regan. Since then they have created several fun family shows, often based on favorite, familiar folktales, and have toured throughout the Northeast. 

Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory is a historic factory building in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York. It was built in 1874 and is a -story, eight-bay brick building. It was expanded about 1887. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It is now a multi-use building with residential apartments, a community kitchen, a coffee house space, artist studios, and a print studio 

Since 1852, Newburgh Free Library has provided library resources that enhance our residents’ quality of life. We offer lifelong learning opportunities for all ages. The library is an active community and economic development institution that addresses key issues such as literacy, job information, early childhood education, and community vitality.