Parade of giant puppets
As the dog days of summer draw to a close, you can teach an old dog a new trick. Just ask the city of Harrisburg. On August 31, Kipona (“on the sparkling water”) turns 108 years old. That’s how long this time-honored tradition has been going on.
To celebrate the year, there will be a “Giant Puppet Parade.” This novelty will throw caution to the wind and welcome the inhabitants of the deep blue sea – all puppets from sea urchins to crustaceans, jellyfish, amphibians, anemones (no enemies) and even the “creature from the black lagoon.”
Harrisburg invites you to join the parade and make a statement on Kipona’s opening day, Saturday, August 31, in a march that will go down in the annals and lore of our fair city. With a nod to Baltimore’s Kinetic Race Puppet Pageantry and Nola’s Giant Puppet Parade initiative, local artisans Jovana Sarver and Reina “R76” Wooden, along with other creative minds, came up with the idea at a meeting in early August. Jovana was the first to press the buzzer and pitched the novel idea of a puppet parade featuring sea creature puppets for children of all ages.
With the green light from Mayor Wanda Williams, the city, along with a group of revelers, is promising an afternoon festival that will kick off the festivities in grand style. The parade will begin at 4:15 p.m., with the vanguard forming up at State and Front Streets, led by a giant “river monster” created by artist Jeff Semmerling of the Co-Exist Gallery. They are sponsoring the event, as is Art Side Out Studio, both of Steelton. It’s a win-win for children of all ages who will play in costumes or puppets by tugging on their strings, and for all the spectators watching the parade. Cash prizes in three categories will be awarded and presented by the Co-Exist Gallery. The streets will be teeming like a dream, and you can scream in joy or fear, but better yet, cheer!
Part II: The future backwards
Science fiction writer William Gibson wrote, “The future is already here.” In an election year that dwarfs all others, there may be two candidates who want to know the day before what November 6 will decide.
The Carlisle Arts Learning Center’s creative team of Cathy Stone, Abria Donato, Mo Geiger, and Rachel O’Connor recently unveiled an art installation dedicated to “the time yet to come” but already passed. “Working Backwards,” the installation’s title, is an all-encompassing journey into the future that takes us to the year 2124, complete with “artifacts, packages, and paperwork.” All detailing events, ephemera, and exculpatory evidence associated with the 100 years ahead, at least allowing humanity to examine life as it can change the future free of guilt or regret from the knowledge we have today. We could easily be held accountable for future criminal acts, such as ignoring the radical changes in climate change, the economy, public health, immigration, and the like. Looking at the artist’s visual confirmations of all this using categorical criteria, it is easy to conclude that history repeats itself over and over again. If we take a clear look at the next hundred years, we can transform the evolution of the tried and tested into an evolution of tangible change.
A wall from the exhibition “Walking Backwards”
Kentucky artist and professor Mia Cinelli visited the Carlisle area, collecting objects and ideas on a mud adventure at Letort Creek before translating her digital exploration into a timeline that reflects the present. Combined with satellite installations at the Cumberland County Historical Society and the Bosler Library, the exhibitions make up “Working Backwards,” on view through September 14. Based on the brilliant conceptualization and sophisticated execution of the entire presentation, this study is timely and thought-provoking, with more than enough material to build a political platform so compelling that a candidate could win the election.
Part III: Preview of the first week of September
Debbie Smith, owner of her eponymous gallery in New Cumberland, is hosting an artist reception to kick off the fall art season on Thursday, Sept. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. at 190 Reno Ave. Her headquarters and art gallery will feature the oil paintings of nature lover Linda Williard. Look for Detective Benoit Blanc walking around with guests and inspecting the artwork. Artist Williard paints with a palette knife – Hollywood may be looking for a new setting for “Knives Out: Part IV.” Debbie, are you ready for a cameo?
On Saturday, September 7, the Mechanicsburg Art School and Center (The Red Barn) will host a “Paint Out” for the Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the grounds of 18 Art Craft Drive. The artist reception will follow from 1 to 3 p.m. A paint out is the artists’ equivalent of a dance contest at a nightclub. Come see for yourself and meet these talented artists. Look for local plein air luminaries Donna Berk Barlup, Lina Ferrara, Julie Riker, Susan Begnini-Landis, Kelly Charlesworth, Mary DePalma, Liz Dallucci, Karon Karhuff, Clare Klaum, Cate McKissick, Debbie Thompson and John Capowski. Repeat five times in quick succession, then turn around and raise the mast.
Important dates
Sunday, September 8, 36th Annual Gallery Walk, Harrisburg, 12-5 p.m.
Saturday, September 14, 42nd Annual Hummelstown Arts Festival, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a friend of TheBurg!
