The summer season is rolling into full, glorious gear for many a family, meaning the "school's out/what now?" discussions will be rolling into full, glorious gear as well.
One hundred percent of all parents -- we'll just go out on that tried-and-true limb here -- have something they're nostalgic about from their youth that they can't find today. They'd love to show their kids, but? But.
Here's the local answer to that particular wish: The Bob Baker Marionettes. The downtown-close theater is marking its 53rd year this year, meaning it was likely around when you were a tot, and probably when your parents were tots, too.
Could three generations all enjoy a place together that the older two generations grew up on? Yep. That's what we're saying.
We're also saying that the venerable venue, which keeps on truckin', despite some hardships, on First Street, is set to open its next show. Name? "It's a Musical World." Date? Saturday, June 22.
Dancing drums, a circus, and "a red, white, and blue finale!" play a part in this tune-oriented show. We seriously are a little in love with those drums, but things that don't normally sprout legs often do in the world of marionettes, and definitely at Bob Baker's landmark kid's theater.
Tickets are $15 and kids 2 and under get in free.
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Oh, and that reminds us of another nostalgic feature of this theater (and, nope, we're not talking about the ice cream cups that get handed out at the end of each show, though those are plenty nostalgic). We like how the young'uns get to sit on the carpet in front of their parents (who sit in the chairs). That puts the tots right up their with the marionettes, so they are not straining to see over a big person's head.
It's true that lots of parts of our own childhoods are now past, but kids sitting feet away from dancing drum marionettes and enjoying ice cream cups afterward probably appears next to the word "nostalgic" in some nicer dictionaries.
