Marlborough will again be overtaken again by puppets on Saturday July 25, three years after the inaugural event that saw crowds flock to the town to marvel at the parade of big puppets along the High Street and the many supportive shows and events taking place.
Marlborough holds a unique place in Puppet history as the home of Pelham Puppets, where founder and puppet pioneer Bob Pelham worked, lived and most importantly developed an internationally famous puppet factory which was at the heart of Marlborough’s business activity for many years, until it burned down nearly sixty years ago.
Bob Pelham’s importance to Marlborough is widely recognised and is now marked by a blue plaque sited soon the wall of the original Pelham premises in Kingsbury Street, unveiled last year to commemorate what would heave been his 100th birthday.
“It will be a big and busy day, and we welcome involvement from the community” said committee Chairman Amba Chawla, when outlining what is planned which includes shows in the Town Hall, Priory Gardens and St Mary’s Church as well as the major High Street Parade. She noted that this year’s ‘World of Puppets’ will be a major community event for the town and an opportunity for many people to become involved as volunteers in a wide range of roles – from holding the big puppets up in the parade, to selling tickets and importantly stewarding – all roles that will help make the day a great success.
World of Puppets 2020 is recognised as a key event in this year’s Marlborough calendar, as a magnet for tourists and the world’s ‘puppet aficionados’ but also to establish Marlborough as an (the?) international centre for puppets.
The event is being supported by many Marlborough institutions and businesses including the Town Council and Marlborough & District Rotary Club, and welcomes involvement of new sponsors to join the growing band of organisations currently behind making World of Puppets 2020 a great success.
“We plan to make it a triannual event” said Abma, adding “Our event in 2017 attracted thousands of people and it was a great opportunity for businesses to get involved whilst, at the same time, promoting their own products or services.”
To find out how to become involved in July’s World off Puppets, contact the WOP Chairman, Amba Chawla at The Merriman Partnership at 01672 515846 or at amba.chawla@tmp.uk.net, or click here visit the World of Puppets website
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