Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival Launches Harvest Themed Pop-Up Puppet Grams

This fall Chicago residents have a cool new way to send friends and loved ones the unforgettable gift of a live, in-person, fall harvest themed puppet show.

They're called Pop-Up Puppet Grams, a popular new gift-giving service from the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. Puppet Grams are just like sending flowers or a singing telegram, but better. And they're easy to order via the festival's website, chicagopuppetfest.org.

The Chicago Puppet Festival launched its new Pop-Up Puppet-Gram service this spring and has since dispatched Chicago puppeteer Mark Blashford to more than 100 front porches, apartment lobbies, back yards and private events throughout the city to perform his popular, five-minute show Doorstep Marionette.

With fall's arrival, Blashford will debut a new, harvest-themed version of Doorstep Marionette. Two dancing scarecrows and a skeleton, brought to life as trick marionettes, implore the moon - and their audience - to keep on shining even as the days get shorter and winter approaches. The new show is set to the jazz tune "Shine On Harvest Moon" and ends with the skeleton delivering the recipient a hand-printed card as a memento.

Pop-Up Puppet-Grams are a great gift to mark special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, graduation celebrations and surprise parties. They also make particularly memorable gifts for anyone in your life that loves Chicago theater.
The delivery fee is $75. Delivery days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Pick a time window - 10 a.m.-Noon, 1-3 p.m. or 5-8 p.m. - and your lucky recipient will get a live, personal, five-minute puppet show delivered right to their front door, porch, lobby or yard.

To allow for multiple deliveries each day, Puppet-Grams can be sent in the city of Chicago and to several nearby suburbs. For delivery boundaries, more details and to schedule a Pop-Up Puppet-Gram, visit chicagopuppetfest.org.

Note: To allow for social distancing, Blashford wears a mask and performs at least six feet away.