The stories and activities were pretty simple, but the gaggle of kids, from babies and toddlers to elementary schoolers, sat enthralled in front of the Eagan Puppet Wagon on a sunny Tuesday morning.
One toddler, in a diaper and denim skirt, bobbed along to the song "Weird Science," then plopped down on her butt and gasped as the puppets appeared from behind a curtain in the retrofitted trailer.
"Are those real puppets?" another little girl asked her mom.
The Eagan Puppet Wagon, operated by the city's Parks and Recreation Department, is now in its 13th year. It visits 10 sites — mostly parks in Eagan and Mendota Heights — each week, doing shows at 10 and 11:15 a.m. Monday through Friday — with a third show every other Monday evening at the Wescott Library in Eagan.
Attendance increases every year, said Holly Champlin, recreation supervisor. The first two weeks of this year saw a total of 1,081 audience members. Last year, there were 722 in the first two weeks, with more than 4,000 over the whole 2014 season.
Each performance has three short puppet shows and three activities. Each week has a theme; last week it was science.
In the first show, it's hot outside, really hot. Puppets Chester, Pat and Kimmie want to have a boat race but must first build boats. Kimmie makes hers out of "precious gems," while Chester makes his out of cheese. Pat makes his boat out of wood.
"Mine might not win but it sure will be tasty," Chester says.
