Life-sized giraffe puppet to parade in Newcastle as part of returning festival

Tyneside may enjoy a longstanding reputation as one of the liveliest areas of the UK, but even by those standards, residents and visitors alike will be treated to quite the sight when an acclaimed performing arts festival is held once more in the city in the spring.

As part of what will only be the second running of Newcastle Puppetry Festival following a successful inaugural event in 2017, a life-sized interactive giraffe puppet will parade through the city, with kids invited to feed, pet and even clean up after her.

When and where will people be see able to see her?

Dolly the Giraffe will be making appearances on Northumberland Street at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm on Saturday 6th April and Sunday 7th April.

The wider festival will continue until 14th April, and will showcase the best in puppetry, visual theatre and stop animation across a series of performances, masterclasses, talks, networking events and outdoor shows for adults, children and families, spread around seven city-centre venues.

What else should prospective attendees know?

The second biennial Newcastle Puppetry Festival is being produced by Moving Parts Arts Ltd, which won The Journal Culture Award for 'Best Newcomer' in recognition of its work on the first edition of the event.

Moving Parts Arts commented on the launch, as reported by the ChronicleLive website: "Budding zookeepers of all ages are invited to meet Dolly, a life-size serene, elegant and beautiful interactive puppet, who roams the streets aided by her zookeeper puppeteers.

"As with any giraffe, she needs feeding, petting and cleaning up after... come along and say hello!"

Another of the festival's events, 'Join the Parade', will take place on the same weekend, with two four-metre-high puppets performing from 11am, 1pm and 3pm. In addition, two giant 'The Keeper's Nests' magpies will perform at 12:30pm and 3:30pm.

More information about the festival can be found at www.newcastlepuppetryfestival.co.uk.

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