Thursday, April 15, 2010 • HERITAGE NEWSPAPERS/WESTERN REGION
Page 15-A
Area residents enjoy A2’s Festifools Hourlong parade attracts families, the curious By Austen Smith Heritage Newspapers
Ann Arbor’s Main Street was invaded by a parade of fools on Sunday as the wonderfully whimsical Festifools delighted local families with giant papiermâché puppets, theatrically dressed musicians and general foolishness. Festifools started in 2007 and has grown every year, including this event, which co-founder Mark Tucker estimated was four to five times larger than last year’s. He said there were about 100 participants in the parade that marched up and down Main Street between William and Washington for about an hour. “There are so many new (puppets) that I didn’t even expect,” Tucker said Sunday. “And all these people coming out, next year they will be participants … because creativity is something we all have, so we’ve got to take care of it. We have to nourish that.” Tucker credited the good weather for the large turnout, as well. Festifools originated when
Tucker and then-graduate student Shoshana Hurand became inspired by giant, human-powered floats that Tucker observed while studying in Italy. At that time, Tucker served as the creative director for the Michigan Thanksgiving Day Parade. He now teaches art through the University of Michigan Lloyd Hall Scholars Program. Many of Tucker’s students built their own floats and participated in Sunday’s event. According to its Web site, Festifools is one of the largest giant puppet shows in the world. The event has drawn volunteer help from University of Michigan students and the city of Ann Arbor. On Sunday, Mayor John Hieftje and his caricature-like, papier-mâché head enjoyed the good weather as they chatted up local families at the parade. “The city loves this project –– this whole thing,” he said. Hundreds of community volunteers and students have worked diligently throughout the winter to create the 10- to 15-foot-tall animated puppets. For more information, visit the Web site www.festifools.org or e-mail startproject@umich. edu. Contact Austen Smith at 4297380 or e-mail asmith@heritage. com.
Parade of Fools
Photos by Austen Smith
Selene Freudenberg of Ann Arbor reaches out to grab some candy from the “candy monster” during the fourth annual Festifools held Sunday in downtown Ann Arbor.
It certainly was a “foolish” day for Ann Arbor during Sunday’s fourth annual Festifools event, which ran from 4 to 5 p.m. on Main Street. Nearly 100 different puppets and performing acts circled up and down delighting thousands of spectators. The Ann Arbor event was started by University of Michigan professor Mark Tucker, who is now considered the “head fool.” For more information, visit the Web site www. festifools.org.
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