Giant puppets paraded through Szeged as the city marked World Puppetry Day

NewsCulture

Mar 24

SZEGED, Hungary — Giant puppets and a festive parade organized by the Kövér Béla Puppet Theater filled downtown Szeged on Saturday as the city marked World Puppetry Day.

The celebration began with a colorful puppet procession departing from Dugonics Square, where families joined in, bringing their own puppets along as they walked toward the Móra Ferenc Museum. Szeged puppeteers accompanied the crowd, walking through the city center with characters familiar to many children.

World Puppetry Day is celebrated each year globally on March 21, a tradition established 23 years ago by the International Puppetry Association (UNIMA). In Hungary, the Hungarian Puppetry Association invites an artist annually to reflect on the role and significance of puppetry. This year’s message, written by Gyöngyi Blasek of the Budapest Puppet Theater, was delivered in Szeged’s Móra Park by Ágnes Kiss, director of the Kövér Béla Puppet Theater.

“Now, on World Puppetry Day, my message is that we who create within this great whirlwind know exactly what kind of wonder is born from our minds, our hearts, our hands — in short, from our entire bodies and souls,” the message said. “That is why it is a tremendous responsibility how we behave, what we teach, and what example we set for young people.”

Later in the day, audiences were invited to the premiere of Fityfirity, a musical and poetry-based performance built around the works of Hungarian poet Sándor Kányádi.

The Kövér Béla Puppet Theater, Hungary’s oldest and smallest puppet theater, will celebrate its 80th anniversary this year.