National Day of Puppetry, April 28th, 2001

Members of CAP joined the Procession of the Species, which began at 11 a.m., Saturday, April 28 at Portland, Oregon's Oregon Square, near Lloyd Center and wound, hopped, slithered, and galloped its way across the Burnside Bridge, down SW Broadway to the South Park Blocks near Portland State University for a community celebration, which featured live music, a Natural Living Fair, and lots and lots of rain.

A wide variety of community arts workshops were offered during the month of April that gave people of all ages an opportunity to create costumes, masks, streamers, giant puppets, musical instruments, and dances to bring to the Procession.

Included in these were workshops by CAP Guild President Steven M. Overton and Vice-President Kris Bluett-Woolen. It was a chance for newcomers to puppetry to discover their inner puppet and to generally have a ball.

Here's some pictures of the puppet building sessions, and if you click here, you will go to three pages of pictures of the actual parade.

Giant Puppet Workshop Participants Giant Puppet Workshop Participants Giant Puppet Workshop Participants
Giant Puppet Workshop Participants Giant Puppet Workshop Participants Giant Puppet Workshop Participants
Giant Puppet Workshop Participants Giant Puppet Workshop Participants Giant Puppet Workshop Participants

Assisting Steve are members of the Columbia Association of Puppeteers (CAP), the Portland-based local guild of the Puppeteers of America.

The slogan of this year's procession was: You've Never Seen the Streets of Portland So Wild!- Truer words were never coined for an event.

Boy did we have fun!!! -- Boy did we get WET!!!!

On April 28, 2001, the Columbia Association of Puppeteers proudly played, participated, volunteered and celebrated the third annual National Day of Puppetry in Portland, Oregon's Procession of the Species Parade and Festival. As a guild, we always push, pull and stretch the limits of puppetry education, love and affection, but this almost went too far.

Prior to the event, both CAP President, Steve Overton and Vice President Kris Bluett-Woolen lead giant puppet-building workshops for anyone who was interested in making a puppet for participation in the Parade. Together we had over 50 volunteers helping create all sorts of different kinds of puppets that marched, were carried, or soared high above the parade.

April weather (some would also say May and June weather) in Portland is always a roll of the dice. Last year's parade was held on a warm fluffy April day with temperatures in the upper 60's.

This year, the parade was held on a not-so-fluffy April day that featured hail, pelting rain, temperatures in the low 50's and winds gusting to 30+ mph.

Yes, some of the puppets got blown apart (and some even got blown away and were last seen heading over Southeast Portland). Some of the parade participants turned back and decided that enough was enough, but the intrepid (foolish?) members of CAP pushed ever onward, getting wetter--and wetter--and wetter.

After two miles in the rain and wind, and just as we reached the parade finish line, the rain let up and the skies began to clear. Just another typical spring day in Portland.

The photos below were taken by your thoroughly drenched newsletter editor and Webmaster, Marty Richmond.

The slogan of this year's procession was: You've Never Seen the Streets of Portland So Wild!

Truer words were never coined for an event.!!!!

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