Cattywampus Puppet Council has been bringing interactive parades, theater, play, and giant puppet magic to communities across East Tennessee and the South for the last 6 years, utilizing the arts as a vehicle for helping our community to tell its stories, build relationships with one another and raise power and joy as a community. Much of Cattywampus’s work centers youth and their leadership, particularly through its Youth Intern Squad. This group of 12-16 year-olds help to plan and organize Cattywampus’s annual giant puppet community arts parade, formally known as the Appalachian Puppet Pageant, now in its 6th year in partnership with the Big Ears Festival.
Cattywampus also works directly with schools and after-school programs, offering multi-session artistic residencies in giant puppet making, community-based theater, and storytelling. In addition to its youth programming, Cattywampus also creates original theater pieces – from small shows at public libraries to full length collaborative pieces with local artists including Good Guy Collective, a Knoxville hip hop collective.
Cattywampus is primarily volunteer-run and relies on community support to sustain its work. If you also appreciate the magic of giant puppets and parades, the value of youth-arts programming, the importance of theater and play to raising joy and power in our communities, please consider donating today and/or monthly via PayPal!
You can also stay in the loop by following us on Instagram (@cattywampuspuppetcouncil), Facebook, or signing up for our email newsletter below.
Cattywampus Puppet Council 