Wanderly Wagon Given Clearance to fly into Dublin City Centre for the Dublin Puppet Festival runs from April 19th to 25th, 2010
The Dublin Puppet Festival, formerly the International Puppet Festival Ireland, is delighted to announce that it has received clearance from air traffic controllers to fly Wanderly Wagon in to celebrate the first Dublin Puppet Festival. The flying caravan will swoop into Wolfe Tone Park, just off Jervis St on Saturday April 24, 2010.
Supported by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, The Dublin Puppet Festival takes place from April 19th to 25th 2010 and replaces the International Puppet Festival Ireland. After almost 2 decades in South Dublin, Ireland’s only puppet festival has now moved into the heart of Dublin’s city centre!
Despite its new name, location and its move from Autumn to Spring, this years puppet festival will, as always, feature an amazing array of puppet performances from all over the world, with entertainment and excitement for all ages.
The 2010 Dublin Puppet Festival also features a weekend of free, open-air, performances on the streets of Temple Bar and in Wolfe Tone Square on April 24th and 25th. Ireland’s first “International Punch Day” will form part of the festivities with Punch & Judy shows from all over Europe taking place in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar.
This year’s Dublin Puppet Festival is dedicated to the memory of its founder, legendary puppeteer and entertainer, Eugene Lambert who passed away in February of this year. To mark his passing, his famous flying caravan will take to the skies again and is scheduled to land in Wolfe Tone Square, off Jervis St, on Saturday April 24th.
Of course, Eugene left not only the legacy of Wanderly Wagon and the Lambert Puppet Theatre behind him, but also a wonderfully creative family who will perform on the streets of Temple Bar for this years festival in his honor.
Launching the Dublin Puppet Festival 2010 programme, now available on www.puppetfest.ie, the festival’s Artistic Director, Ronan Tully said “We may have changed the name, the time of year and the location of the festival but we’d like to reassure everyone that they can still expect the same level of entertainment as before! We’re really thrilled to be moving right into the heart of Dublin making us more accessible to people all over the country.”
“2010 is a crucial year for the Dublin Puppet Festival” he added, “as with all our colleagues in the arts, juggling the finances is a challenge. We’re delighted to be funded by the Arts Council, Dublin Tourism and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council but we are very much relying on public support to get us to our 20th anniversary festival next year.”
“We also lost our founder, my grandfather Eugene Lambert this year and have dedicated this year’s festival to him. To pay homage to him we are bringing the original Wanderly Wagon into Dublin city for the weekend of April 24th and 25th and we’re inviting everyone to come along to Wolfe Tone Square and relive their childhood!”
The Dublin Puppet Festival 2010 programme features performances for adults and children in Temple Bar’s Smock Alley and Project Theatres. Full details are available on www.puppetfest.ie.
Tickets can now be booked online at www.puppetfest.ie or tel. 01 4429010
