Northwest Puppet Center might be closed for the summer, but its door to the world of puppetry remains open wide.
Starting this weekend, the Maple Leaf theater is presenting an exhibit at the Seattle Center Pavilion featuring more than 5,000 puppets from around the world and spanning a few centuries called “The World of Puppetry: Treasures from The Cook/Marks Collection.” Expect to see puppets from as far off as Bucharesti, Palermo, Bali, Athens, Osaka, Rio de Janeiro, Bamako and Bursa, as well as stunning examples of Sicilian opera dei pupi, Indonesian wayang and Japanese bunraku, which are recognized by UNESCO as “Intangible Cultural Assets to Humanity,” the Puppet Center says.
The free exhibit, considered among the finest collections of puppets in the nation, will open from 6-9 p.m. Friday, and remain on display at the Seattle Center Pavilion through Aug. 1. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, July 26, through Friday, July 30.
The exhibit is sponsored by The Jacqueline S. Marks Fund at the California Community Foundation and Seattle Center; operating support is provided by ArtsFund and the Washington State Arts Commission.
And don’t fret if you miss your chance to see the show: Even more of the collection will be on display at the Northwest Puppet Center, 9123 15th Ave. N.E., when the 2010-11 season begins in November.
Impt correction: The exhibit at the Seattle Center features about 200 puppets — not 5000. This is just a TASTE of the huge Cook/Marks Collection that is coming to Seattle in the coming months.