Embrace Your Inner Child
Courtesy Ang Pabich
“If you build it, they will come,” is the mantra Prickly Pear Puppet Posse founder Ang Pabich lives by. It’s a saying that’s helped her vision of puppet slams for adults to come to life.
“Puppetry gives you permission to embrace the wonder and innocent curiosity of a child,” Pabich tells SFR.
It was while attending a puppet show in her hometown of Baltimore—a city, Pabich tells SFR, known for its puppet scene—she had an epiphany. The theatrical medium resonated with her artistic side, but it was arriving in Santa Fe a few years later when the creative juices really started flowing.
Once here, Pabich put on a performance for close friends to test the waters. Pabich loved performing, but was even more surprised by the positive reaction from the audience.Afterward, she connected with members of the local puppet community through puppeteer tea party gatherings that included sharing ideas and crafting puppets. After just a few tea parties, the Prickly Pear Puppet Posse was born.
“We are an inclusive puppeteer collective meant to support each other and we also share the bigger mission of having more puppetry in Santa Fe,” Pabich tells SFR.
Prickly Pear Puppet Posse’s first performance was in December, but Pabich considers this week’s A Spring-a-Ding-Ding Puppet Slam to be the first official show. Thanks to The Puppet Slam Network, a foundation that provides grants to groups producing puppet slams, Pabich was able to receive the proper funding to take things to the next level. Simultaneously, Pabich crossed paths with local puppeteer and previous resident puppeteer for Bread and Puppet Theater, Susie George. Together, their vision picked up serious momentum.
This Saturday, George hosts the event, which includes several puppeteers performing short-form acts and special guest Sweet Pea on guitar. While it may be tempting to bring the kiddos along, Pabich tells SFR the content is comparable to a PG-13 movie.
“It’s going to be a fun, whimsical show and a time to forget all worries for an hour, and maybe even inspire others to pursue puppeteering themselves.”
A Spring-a-Ding-Ding Puppet Slam: 7 pm Saturday. May 17. $10-$20. Relay, 2873 All Trades Road, (505) 531-8003
Once Upon a Time…
Courtesy Collected Works Bookstore
The history of storytelling is as old as language itself and serves as a keystone tradition in cultures on every continent. Some cultures even depend on storytelling as a way to pass on their beliefs, traditions and philosophies to new generations. Collected Works Bookstore’s newly formed collaboration with the Santa Fe Public Library introduces a new Story Lab Series to celebrate people’s stories of the Southwest through intimate community circles. The event, developed by Collected Works employee Sarah Haghi, features six individuals from different backgrounds with personal stories to tell. Listeners may even find themselves leaving the circle in a perpetual state of wonder ready to share at the next Story Lab.
Step into the Story: Santa Fe Story Lab Debut Event: 6 pm Wednesday, May 14. Free. Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeeshop, 202 Galisteo St., (505) 988-4226
A Flower’s Power
Courtesy Electra Gallery
Flowering plants contain an abundance of medicinal benefits worth tapping into and adding to the medicine cabinet. Vibrational healer and founder of Swanstar Essences Genai Ellen Wachs’ upcoming talk brings over 30-years of expertise around using flower and nature essences as medicine, while also providing insight into what happens when we take leaps of faith into the unknown. During her talk, Wachs takes audience members on a quest she embarked on 10 years ago that transformed her life. When Wachs fully embraced crafting flower essence medicines, she found a power behind myth and magic she could share with anyone. (AF)
Myth, Magic, and Medicine: Co-creating Medicine with Nature: 7 pm Thursday May 15. Free. Electra Gallery, 825 Early St., Ste. D, electragallery.com
What’s in Season?
Courtesy SF Farmers' Market
It’s that sweet time of year when the offerings at the weekly Farmers’ Market are noticeably more abundant and the Tuesday market is up and running. And is there really anything better than buying local produce while simultaneously supporting the hard working farmers dedicated to providing us with healthy food? May’s in season offerings include arugula, asparagus, radishes, kale and so much more. Not to mention the local meats and array of irresistible cheeses, honey and jams. So, when you’re headed to the grocery store for your weekend veggie haul, save yourself the trouble of all the parking lot nightmares and walk to the Railyard instead.
Santa Fe Farmers’ Market: 8 am-1 pm, Tuesdays & Saturdays. Free. 1607 Paseo De Peralta, santafefarmersmarket.com
