The winter preview of the International Puppet Festival in Meppel is sold out. This week, six hundred people will walk the winter Popp-en-Route past three performances by puppeteers from home and abroad.
Once every two years, Meppel fills up with puppet lovers during International Puppet. Another edition is scheduled for 2024, but the festival organization does not like a year without puppetry.
“Every two years is actually too short,” says co-organizer Mirte Droogers with a laugh. “We want to keep Meppel a little warm for puppet theater, so we organize this winter walk in the years without a major festival.”
Puppeteers show their skills at three places in the city. One plays with lifelike ventriloquist dummies, the other only uses his hands with a round ball on top. Visitors walk in groups through the city center, past the various performances.
In the meantime, the organization is already busy preparing for the autumn of next year. The intention is for dozens of professional puppeteers to come to Meppel again between October 30 and November 3. In previous years there were 250 acts to admire.