Puppet Library

In the Heart of the Beast Theater
Minneapolis, MN

There are just a few puppet lending libraries in the United States. They include Boston's Puppet Free Library, its hundreds of puppets housed in a church basement. Minnesota's first puppet-lending library is in the historic Avalon Theater. Home to the Heart of the Beast Theater since 1988, the nonprofit has invested in restoring the storied theater, built in 1924, for performances using puppets and masks. The puppet-lending library offers free access to a trove of hundreds of puppets created by artists and neighbors over decades of performances and May Day parades.

Please join us for the Greenwoods Puppet Festival, opening on Friday, October 13, with a screening of a Handmade Puppet Dreams film, created by Heather Henson. On Saturday, plan to spend the day at the Festival. There will be a hospitality tent on the Library lawn and some wonderful shows to take in, all described below. We hope to see you there!

Heather Henson’s Handmade Puppet Dreams shorts
Meet and greet with the puppeteers
Friday, October 13, 3:45 p.m.

Children will need a note to get off the bus at the library. There will be a snack before the film, and parents and children can meet the weekend puppeteers at the film’s conclusion. The featured film is family focused and is comprised of twelve engaging puppet shorts, setting the stage for the lively performances of the Puppet Festival. To find out more and to register, please visit here.

Sleeping Beauty, presented by the Tanglewood Marionettes
Saturday, October 14, 10:00 a.m.
Norfolk Library Great Hall

A charming tale which appeals especially to younger children, Sleeping Beauty begins in King Felix’s great hall where guests from across the land have gathered to celebrate the birth of Princess Aurora. The party goes awry when the wicked witch arrives and curses the baby princess. Will the curse come true? Will someone with a “true heart” appear? You will know when you see Tanglewood Marionettes’ presentation of this beloved classic.

In this retelling, a painted story book opens to reveal each scene. Beautifully hand-crafted marionettes are brought to life by a master puppeteer as the dramatic events unfold.

Please register here.

Alice or the Red King’s Dream, presented by Dream Tale Puppets
Saturday, October 14, 1:00 p.m.
Battell Chapel, Norfolk Church of Christ

As two vagabond-like characters banter and tease each other, they find and bring to life a puppet of a little girl. They call her Alice and set her on a journey to find her lost kitten. Alice enters a world of puzzles inhabited by talking flowers and a collection of characters from Lewis Carroll’s stories. Each of Alice’s encounters, some nonsensical, some funny, challenges her sense of reality and sense of self. But she has to find her lost kitten and by pursuing her goal she moves on, overcomes doubts, and at the end even defeats the most frightening creature of the land behind the looking glass — the Jabberwocky dragon.

This show is intended for audiences ages 5 and up, and attendees are invited to stay after the performance to meet the puppeteers and puppets. Please note this show is at Battell Chapel.
Please register here.

Big Puppet Parade
Saturday, October 14, 3:00 p.m.
Village Green

Directed by Susan Aziz, the parade features The Flock of Doves by Mortal Beasts & Deities, Robin McCahill’s puppetry, Titania and Oberon by Adelka Polak of Sova Theater, and Aziz’s Queen of Heaven, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Wolf. The parade will traverse the Village Green to allow viewers to witness the beautiful movement of puppetry. No registration required.

The Ice River, presented by Galapagos Puppet Theater
Saturday, October 14, 4:00 p.m.
Norfolk Library Great Hall

Journeying to India, Monk Tang and his disciples Monkey, Pig, and Sha-jing have just found a quiet temple to rest in when they learn that a powerful river monster has been demanding all the food in the area, year after year. Searching for the surprising secret of the monster’s formidable power takes the disciples over the Ice River, down to its bottom, and up to the heavens. Madeleine Beresford and Margaret Moody use traditional Bu Dai Xi puppets and choreography in their lively presentation of this episode from the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West. Accompanied by original music.

Recommended for ages 5 and up.
Please register here.

Norfolk Library Poetry Café
Wednesday, October 18, 6:00 p.m.

Join us for the first of our monthly Poetry Cafés in the Great Hall. Bring a poem to read, either one you've read or written, and come ready to listen to and enjoy poetry. There will not be a formal discussion on the pieces, rather time to celebrate and share the poetry that we love. Each month will feature a different theme, and October's theme is "leaves." Wine and warm beverages will be served. Please register here.

There is some debate around the origin of the phrase "Poetry Café ." Some argue it refers to the Modernists (Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, TS Eliot, etc.) sharing their work in the cafés in Europe. As spoken word poetry has gained traction and the genre of slam poetry has evolved, some trace the phrase to the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan. The café was founded in 1973 by Rutgers professor Miguel Algarín and gave Puerto Rican New York poets a place to meet and share their work. Although the café was closed for several years in the 1980's, it continues to serve as an arts center for the Nuyorican community.

Knit So As to Turn Water: The History of New England's Maritime Knitting
Friday, October 20, 3:30 p.m.

Join the Norfolk knitters to find out more about the history of New England's maritime knitting. Rebecca Bayreuther Donohue will give a powerpoint presentation and bring samples which will be passed around during the program.

For over twenty years, Rebecca built research and programming at a major maritime museum. Now she practices and teaches living history in a variety of time periods and media, including the recreation of period clothing, material culture, lifestyles, and events. A lifelong resident of the southeastern Connecticut shoreline, Rebecca is happiest with a set of knitting needles, a pair of oars, or a primary source in her hands.

Please register here for this program.

Classic Crawford Film Series: Mildred Pierce (1945)
Friday, October 27, 7:00 p.m.

Robert Dance, author of Ferocious Ambition: Joan Crawford's March to Stardom, will introduce the three Crawford films in this series, beginning with Mildred Pierce on October 27. You wont want to miss seeing these classics on the big screen! An astute, lavishly illustrated evaluation of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Ferocious Ambition will be available for sale and signing by the author. Visit here to find out more and to register.

Crawford’s remarkable forty-five-year motion picture career is one of the industry’s longest. Signing her first contract in 1925, she was crowned an MGM star four years later and by the mid-1930s was the most popular actress in America. In the early 1940s, Crawford’s risky decision to move to Warner Bros. was rewarded with an Oscar for Mildred Pierce. This triumph launched a series of film noir classics. In her fourth decade she teamed with rival Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, proving that Crawford, whose career had begun by defining big-screen glamour, had matured into a superb dramatic actress.

Robert Dance’s new evaluation of Joan Crawford looks at her entire career and—while not ignoring her early years and tempestuous personal life—focuses squarely on her achievements as an actress, and as a woman who mastered the studio system with a rare combination of grit, determination, beauty, and talent. Overlooked in previous biographies has been Crawford’s fierce resolve in creating and then maintaining her star persona. She let neither her age nor the passing of time block her unrivaled ambition, and she continually reimagined herself, noting once that, for the right part, she would play Wally Beery’s grandmother. But she was always the consummate star and, at the time of her death in 1977, she was a motion picture legend and a twentieth-century icon.

Mindfulness with Miranda Lee
Fridays in October, 9:15 - 10:00 a.m

Mindfulness practitioner Miranda Lee continues her Mindfulness classes this month with the theme of Radical Acceptance. This course is offered via Zoom. Anyone can join at any time. Please visit here to find out more and to register for the Zoom link.

Click Here to view the The Norfolk Library Night Owl - October 13, 2023