Festival has strings attached

Puppets will come to life in various ways at the Festival of Puppetry exhibition at Estuary Arts Centre in Orewa.

The festival, which runs from July 5–30, features puppets painted with fluorescent paint, displayed in a darkened room under UV light. The puppets are made by Little Green Man Productions, and their creators will be on hand at a workshop this weekend, July 8 and 9, to help children make their own glow-in-the-dark puppets as part of the art centre’s school holiday programme.

Some of the country’s finest puppeteers are coming to the arts centre for the festival – Dan Martin will have an animatronic, voice activated puppet on display and there are performances featuring more traditional puppets, such as marionettes, and stop motion animation.

The puppetry festival runs alongside the Art of Illusion exhibition, which includes photographs of clever optical illusions created by body painters and sand artist Jamie Harkins.

The exhibition runs from July 5–30 and the School Holiday programme from July 8–23. Info: visit Estuary Arts Centre, Western Reserve, Orewa, www.estuaryarts.org or phone 426 5570.