BareBones has been doing outdoor puppet Halloween shows for 25 years. We’ve been going for the last 5 or maybe 10 years. It is one of my favorite Halloween events.
The show is different every year but it revolves around the idea of Halloween being a day when there’s a bridge between the living and the dead. A day when the generations of ancestors and future progeny coexist. One generation learns from the next – hopefully in time for the generations to continue.
There’s also an element of conservation and social progression. Often there’s a scene with fish swimming in the sea until a tidal wave or other tragedy. It’s one of my favorite scenes in show and luckily they reran it this year. A new scene this year includes chipmunks with suitcases. The chipmunks unpack their individual bag, go along with their tasks, then they get moved along by a large boom from above. So they scutter, turn around and set up their suitcase again and do it all over again. Hard to see that without thinking of the homeless encampment, especially in St Paul.
The show includes universal and very local themes. And it’s very visual. I think even the toughest customer in our group liked it, at least a little. But that’s pretty good for an 8 year old boy!
Mostly Minnesota 