Performances set for Aug. 18-19 at corn feed, Finn Creek Festival

Photo by Dani Koenen
The annual Kaleva Puppet Pageant will once again be held in New York Mills. Two shows will be held next weekend, including a performance on Friday night at the corn feed and Saturday at Finn Creek.

The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center has announced its 14th annual Kalevala Puppet Pageant, a large-scale community street theater experience taking place in NY Mills from August 7-19.

  All are invited to the two culminating performances on Friday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. at the NY Mills VFW during the NY Mills Civic & Commerce Corn Feed and on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 12 p.m. at Finn Creek Open Air Museum during the Finn Creek Summer Festival. Both performances are family-friendly and open to all, and a free-will donation will be collected following both performances. The corn feed is free to attend. The Finn Creek Summer Festival has a gate donation of $5 per adult with children 16 & under free.

  Each year, an original play is created based on characters and tales from the Kalevala, the Finnish book of legends. This narrated play is brought to life by local community members through larger-than-life puppet costumes, stilt-walking, songs, and music by award-winning duo Curtis and Loretta of Minneapolis, Minn., and vocalist Adam Tervola Hultberg from NY Mills. 

This year’s performance will tell the story of “Vainamoinen and the Golden Goose” and will include many familiar characters from years past, including the Dame of Pohjola and the Water Spirit. Community members of all ages create puppets, costumes, and scenery, and learn to walk on stilts throughout two weeks of workshops leading up to the August 18-19 performances.

Workshops began on Monday, Aug. 7, and continue for two weeks with participants gathering daily. Adults and youth ages 5 & up (children under the age of 7 must be accompanied by an adult or older sibling) are invited to participate. There is a fee of $50/child (max $100/family) to participate in the two weeks of workshops and two performances; teen and adults are free. Scholarships are available; no one will be turned away based on an inability to pay. Parent volunteers welcome.

  Acting, costume design, performance skills and stilt walking are taught by Anne Sawyer, Creative Director and Puppeteer from Minneapolis, who has worked with In the Heart of the Beast, Artstart, Chicks on Sticks, and Lifeworks, along with Assistant Director Lisa Winter of Wadena, who is a long-time puppeteer and stilt-walker and has been involved in the Puppet Pageant all 13 years, and Tara Fahey, a Minneapolis-based artist and stilter.

  Community members of all ages can get involved by attending evening workshops open to all on August 7, 9, 14 and 15, all from 6-8 p.m. at The Barn/NY Mills Sculpture Park to help build puppets and props. Families are welcome and children are asked to be accompanied by adults.

  For more information, or for questions, contact the Cultural Center at 385-3339 or visit www.kulcher.org/2023-kalevala-puppet-pageant/ with questions, to sign up, volunteer, or to donate.