Kalevala Puppet Pageant August 18 & 19 in NYM
14th Annual Large-Scale Community Theater Performances
The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center invites the public to the 14th annual Kalevala Puppet Pageant, a large-scale street theater community performance, with two options to attend: Friday, August 18 at 7pm at the NYM VFW, and Saturday, August 19 at 12pm at Finn Creek Museum.
Both performances are family-friendly and open to all. The Friday performance will be held in conjunction with the New York Mills Civic & Commerce Corn Feed. This is free to attend and begins at 4pm at the NYM VFW. The Saturday performance is part of the Finn Creek Summer Festival, which has activities both Saturday and Sunday, and has a gate donation of $5/adult with children 16 & under free.
The Puppet Pageant is an original play created based on characters and tales from the Kalevala, the Finnish book of legends. This narrated performance is brought to life by local community members through larger-than-life puppet costumes, stilt-walking, songs, and music by award-winning duo Curtis & Loretta of Minneapolis and vocalist Adam Tervola Hultberg from New York Mills. This year’s performance will tell the story of “Vainamoinen and the Golden Goose” and will include many familiar characters from years past.
The Cultural Center would like to thank the many supporters of the Puppet Pageant, including local sponsors NYM Civic & Commerce Association, NYM VFW Post 3289, Finn Creek Museum, Centennial Realty, Farmers & Merchants State Bank, Friends for Good, Goose Gang, Grieger Dental, Mills Country Market, NYM Dispatch, Perham Focus, Perham Printing, and Whistle Stop B&B.
The activity is also made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Call the Cultural Center at 218-385-3339 or visit kulcher.org/2023-kalevala-puppet-pageant/ with questions.
About the Cultural Center:
The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center is a rural hub for creativity, community vitality, and lifelong learning in the arts. The Center offers visitors intimate opportunities to encounter art and artists in its 80-seat concert listening room, visual art gallery in a historic building, gift shop featuring local artists, artist residency program, sculpture park, and a variety of opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive. Since its incorporation in 1990, the Cultural Center has been passionate about connecting people to artists and rich cultural experiences in rural Minnesota, celebrating the local and being a window to the world. For more information, call 218-385-3339, or visit www.kulcher.org.
