Giant Lantern Serpent Puppet 'Casssandra' to Appear at Pease Park for 1-Night-Only Sunset Encounter

Glass Half Full Theatre announced a rare public appearance of Casssandra, a 26-foot flying lantern serpent and giant illuminated puppet, who will visit Pease Park at sundown on December 6, 2025.

This free, family-friendly outdoor event features a short performance at 5:32 PM, followed by a community Q&A before the serpent "flies off" into the sunset. Attendance is limited to help preserve the historic Pease Park lawn; free RSVPs are required.

Casssandra is the newest creation of Glass Half Full Theatre, whose team designed and built the giant serpent as part of the ongoing project The Serpents Fly at Sundown. Built from bamboo, willow, paper, and light, Casssandra embodies both climate anxieties and communal resilience. Her appearance at Pease Park — a site shaped by historic floods — invites audiences to meet an impossible creature and share with her our hopes for what feels like an impossible time.

"Casssandra is a harbinger of the unimaginable," said Méndez Aguirre. "She arrives in moments of unseasonable weather, unpredictable change, and unbelievable headlines. She’s here to meet her Austin neighbors, hear what they hope for the city’s future, and spark imagination right where nature has rewritten the landscape."

The event follows Glass Half Full Theatre’s multi-month community engagement process in partnership with Creative Action. The serpent’s feathers were designed and made by seniors at the Alamo Recreation Center, led by Creative Action teaching artist Marga Garza. In January, the company will host a giant lantern-making workshop, inviting participants to create their own illuminated creatures that will join Casandra at a community performance in a special site, joined by more creatures designed by elementary school students at Reilly Elementary, Maplewood Elementary, and Travis Heights Elementary, and built by Glass Half Full Theatre.

"We want people of all ages to experience the wonder of illuminated puppetry, especially during times where the light feels hard to come by" said GHFT Co-Artistic Director Caroline Reck. "Meeting Casssandra is an invitation. Come see what we have made, then dream about how you can amplify her with your own creative inventions."

Visitors will be able to: Witness the giant serpent lantern puppet in the wild; Meet her up close and share their wishes for the future; Share their own hopes for Austin’s climate future; Participate in a Q&A with the creative team; Learn how to join upcoming lantern-making workshops in January.

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