Puppetry Day's Got the World on a String

Spring arrived in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20, which means that the first full day of spring 2021, the day without anything wintry to it, happens to be March 21.

Which makes it an especially sprightly and sunshiny and auspicious day, the sort of occasion for fanciful frolicking and the summoning of smiles.

What better emissary for such an ebullient moment than a merry marionette, the kind of fun figure that dances, capers, and adds zest to every stage show?

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater has been perfecting that particular kid-pleasing playfulness for nearly six decades.

So the fact that the talented performers at the Highland Park venue would have something sweet in store for World Puppetry Day, which indeed happens on March 21, makes charming sense.

There's a live Zoom performance coming up at 2:30 p.m. on World Puppetry Day, and you and your marionette-obsessed family members (grown-ups and tots alike) can tune in for all sorts of adorable antics.

Call it a cheery way to meet an early spring day, with plenty of strings attached.

But if you don't catch the live Zoom, be not blue: The theater has several performance videos up on Youtube, and a number of clips that take at-home viewers through the easy step-by-step of creating puppets on their own.

Happy World Puppetry Day to all puppets, marionettes, and people seeking an uplifting expression of spring's first full day.