Crowds turn out for parade of giant puppets

Giant head of a puppet in a turban
The parade was the final event in the Tunbridge Wells Puppetry Festival [Denise Maisner]

Crowds have turned out on the streets of a Kent town to witness a parade of giant puppets.

The processsion marked the end of the nine-day-long Tunbridge Wells Puppetry Festival.

Highlights of the 40 events included a wordless production of Macbeth, a rhyming fable featuring song and dance, and a talk by one of the puppeteers from the Muppet Show.

The festival "celebrated world class puppetry in all forms from masks to aerial work", a spokesperson said.

The programme, which was part-funded by the Arts Council, took place at venues across the town, including Royal Victoria Place, Trinity Theatre and The Pantiles.

A giant fish puppet parading along Tunbridge Wells street with other puppets in the background
A total of 40 events took place over nine days [Denise Maisner]
Children in rhino costumes taking part in puppet festival
Hundreds of people turned up to watch the parade through Tunbridge Wells [Denise Maisner]
A close up of a giant blue Narwal puppet
Lots of giant creatures paraded through Tunbridge Wells [Denise Maisner]
A giant crow puppet
It was the sixth time the puppet festival had taken place [Denise Maisner]

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