Inclement weather forces BareBones to cancel opening night on Halloween

The 31st anniversary of the show will instead kick off Friday.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 1, 2024 at 9:34PM
BareBone's 25th Anniversary Halloween Extravaganza
BareBones Productions’ annual Halloween Extravaganza has been a cult favorite in the Twin Cities. (Jessica Armbruster — Max Haynes/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The opening night of BareBones Productions’ 31st annual Halloween Extravaganza at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis, has been canceled Thursday because of inclement weather and potentially unsafe ground conditions.

“We at BareBones are all sad that the wet and cold made for dangerous conditions for puppets, stilters and technicians for this Halloween night,” the BareBones board said in an email statement. “But we invite you to join with us on another night of this season of grief and transition.”

A cult favorite in the Twin Cities, the show was to feature large-scale puppets, people on stilts, an orchestra of 16 musicians and fire performers. According to the BareBones website, the show will go on as scheduled Friday through Monday, and tickets from Thursday will be honored for any of the remaining dates.

Titled “When Calamity Strikes,” the show explores themes about technology, climate change and genocide through the use of more than 25 puppets. The performance also a way to welcome the changing of the seasons, honoring the “circle of life by celebrating its seasonal arc of death in the fall.”

A largely volunteer-run organization, many of the people involved in BareBones also participate in the annual MayDay Parade, known as the rite of spring.

about the writer

about the writer

Alicia Eler

Critic / Reporter

Alicia Eler is the Minnesota Star Tribune's visual art reporter and critic, and author of the book “The Selfie Generation. | Pronouns: she/they ”

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