The event was a playful, relaxed affair. Booths were comfortably set up; lots of different outside-activities around the park.

The structure of the activity was simply to spread out picnic blankets and cover them with puppets. Moran sat in a chair with a puppet and used ventriloquism to get folks curious. As the parents and children approached they were invited to come on to the blankets and explore the puppets. And then, either me or my assistant, would get down on the blanket and engage in improvised play with kids and puppetws.

The takeaway is that, unless it’s a signed-up-for-ahead-of-time event, with regular reminders prior to, gathering folks for a show and workshop doesn’t work as well as a drop-in-and-play-when-you-want event — with an active puppeteer engaged with the students and parents as they approach.

I was very pleased to see how many of the kids came back over and over again to play with the puppets, actively developing character and story.

If it’s possible, since this is year two of the Latinas Dream Big Festival, I would suggest live music.