ABOUT US
Puppets in Beverley creates unforgettable arts experiences that transform and celebrate the rural East Yorkshire town of Beverley.
Our flagship event is Beverley Puppet Festival, which takes place once every two years across a weekend in July. Giant, fantastical creatures roam Beverley’s historic streets. Tiny, magical worlds are revealed to unsuspecting audiences in the Friary Gardens. The best of UK and European puppet theatre is brought to venues throughout the town for residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy. In 2015 Beverley Puppet Festival won the Remarkable East Yorkshire Tourism Award for 'Remarkable Small Tourism Event' for the 2014 festival, and was a finalist again in 2017 and 2019.
Since 2005, Beverley Puppet Festival has welcomed thousands of audience members to experience the transformative, unique and inclusive world of puppetry. Puppetry is for everyone, not just children. Puppetry creates magic though mixing many artistic disciplines, drawing people of all ages and backgrounds into other worlds. We aim to bring out the adult within the child and the child within the adult, to spark creative and critical thinking, to think outside the box.
WE AIM TO BRING OUT THE ADULT WITHIN THE CHILD AND THE CHILD WITHIN THE ADULT, TO SPARK CREATIVE AND CRITICAL THINKING, TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX.
Puppetry builds confidence, creativity and exploration. Our outreach projects infuse hands-on puppetry experience into the lives of East Yorkshire people. We work with school children, care home residents and some of the regions most marginalised groups to facilitate joy, expression and learning. When not running the festival, we facilitate interim year projects that seek to explore in-depth artistic collaborations that celebrate the region.
We are a non-for-profit organisation and rely solely on funding and donations to make our festival and projects a reality. If you believe in our mission to bring quality puppetry experiences to East Yorkshire residents and visitors then please consider making a donation today. Sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with all we do.
Read a more in-depth history of our work.
Image credits: Banner image taken by Nigel Walker; 'Little Sparrow by Laura Mathews Art' taken by Scott Wigglesworth; Professor Ambrose Merryweather by & his Fabulous Fossils by Vivify' taken by Nigel Walker; Team photo taken by Nigel Walker; 'Dolly the Giraffe by VIP Puppets' taken by Scott Wigglesworth