Presided over by Mount Tarrangower, the Central Victorian town of Maldon will play host to the inaugural Tarrengower Puppetfest on March 10, 11 and 12, 2012.
The model and inspiration for the Tarrengower Puppetfest has come from the One Van Puppet Festival, conducted from 1998 to 2008, in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. One Van Puppet Festival creator and director Sue Wallace has been an invaluable advisor to the Tarrengower Puppetfest.
Tarrengower Puppetfest Artistic Director, Richard Hart, said:
"Maldon, Victoria, is the perfect location for a re-invigorated event. With practically everything within walking distance; old style shops and cafes with verandahs, close accommodation and plenty of great venues, including a mine and a steam train.
Originally, people flocked to Maldon to try their luck on its goldfields. These days, they come in their thousands to attend the broad range of annual festivals this town is geared up to host: The Maldon Folk Festival, the Antique and Collectables Fair, the Taste of Gold Twilight Dinner that seats 1000 diners in Main Street, Maldon in Winter and the 135 year old Easter Fair."
Maldon is only two hours' drive (140km) from Melbourne.
Tarrengower Puppetfest has already attracted the cream of Australiasia's puppeteers.
Richard Hart said "From my perspective, puppet theatre or puppetry that is performed by excellent artists who have mastered their craft transcends all boundaries, as in any art form. It can give an audience another arena for theatrical experience and transform them. To this end, I am presenting puppeteers who are the best and among the best in their field".
Enthusiasts and afficionados will find that "this inaugural Tarrengower Puppetfest is a kind of getting to know each other between the Maldon and regional communities and the puppeteers. It is the beginning of a new and different festival that will be taking over the town for a few days or more every year.
"It will reveal the diversity of styles, techniques and audiences that puppet theatre has been manifesting over many years in Australia and overseas - from under 5s to adults only and all in between. Puppetry that is comic, beautiful, curious, serious, dramatic, scary, fascinating, rude, bizarre, just plain fun!"
The Festival base will be the Maldon Community Centre (6 Francis Street, Maldon), with most venues within easy walking distance. The exception will be performances in Carman's Tunnel, a short drive or 20 minute walk from the Community Centre, and the Victorian Goldfields Railway.
The Maldon Visitor Information Centre will provide a Box Office facility from 10am to 5pm throughout the Festival weekend.
Be enthralled, enticed, challenged or just plain entertained
at
Tarrengower Puppetfest, March 10, 11 and 12, 2012
Tarrengower Puppetfest is proudly sponsored by
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