Puppets, Puppets, Puppets!

We love the Children's Museum. This is some of the photos I took in the puppet exhibit that they have. There is also a puppet theatre that the kids can put on shows in. My kids have always enjoyed puppetry and we had many over the years. Below is the write up posted at the museum about the lady whose puppets these were. Enjoy!








Anna Cabrat was known to thousands of children in East Tennessee as Aunt Anna. She had a distinguished career as an educator and libarian, but after retiring as libarian at Oak Ridge High School in 1975, she pursued her love of puppetry and began performing as "Aunt Anna and her Friends".

Ms. Cabrat made each puppet by hand. Many are life size and are storybook characters that she came to love as a librarian and all reflect her true artistic sense. Prior to her death, Anna loaned a group of puppets to the Children's Museum for an exhibition called, "Anna Cabrat's Puppets". She viewed he exhibition one week before her death and enjoyed it thoroughly. At the request of her family and friends her puppets are part of the museum's permanent collection.

In addition to creating puppets, she was a professional storyteller. She told stories to children at the museum and libraries throughout East Tennessee and was a performer at eh 1982 World's Fair.

Ms. Cabrat was dedicated to the art of puppetry and was an active member of The Puppeteers of America. While she was still able to travel, she attended puppet festivals in St Louis, Atlanta, Tampa, Nashville and other cities. There she became good friends with some of the top puppeteers in the world. It was not unusual for her to describe visits with the lat Jim Henson of the Muppets, Vince Anthony of the Center for Puppetry Arts, Tony Tichenier of Nashville, and the famous puppeteer, Bill Baird.

Look at her puppets and count the variety of materials she used to make the puppets. Look at each puppet and imagine how she made each puppet come alive.

Anna's collections and most of all her zest for living, are part of her legacy. She passed away November 27, 1990.