Nottingham Puppet Festival 2024: Puppets to take over city centre with free performances and parades

Nottingham Puppet Festival is returning later this month, with free performances and parades taking place across the city centre. 

On Saturday, April 13, the city centre will be taken over by puppets as the festival returns for its seventh year. 

Produced by City Arts, Nottingham, the day will kick off at 11am in Listergate with Inspirate’s Ancient Giants in a battle between good and evil. 

Gods and Demons from ancient stories are brought to life in a family-friendly street theatre show, creating an exciting fusion of large-scale puppetry, martial arts, physical theatre and storytelling. 

This encounter is brought to life by two 12-foot puppets, who interact with audiences as they make their way towards a dramatic confrontation.

At 12pm in Old Market Square visitors will see Mahogany Carnival Design’s spectacular costumes. 

Mahogany Carnival Design is a family of creatives who together make magical, interactive characters that interweave to make an exquisite kaleidoscope of colour and shape.

Over in Sneinton Market you can get close up to By Our Hands’ handcrafted marionettes at their studio open day, and even have the chance to rummage in the wood pile, take up tools and craft a collaged character from repurposed and unruly materials.

All events are free to attend and the full schedule can be found here.