International Puppet Fringe Festival, Honoring Work of Ralph Lee, to Take Place in August

The third annual International Puppet Fringe Festival will take place August 9-13 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, organized by Teatro SEA, Grupo Morán, and the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Education Center.

This year’s festival will honor the memory of puppet designer Ralph Lee, who was also the founder of the long-standing Village Halloween Parade. The August 9 kickoff celebration will include a mini-Halloween procession to celebrate Lee’s life.

Groups from around the world will take part, including Israel’s Yael Rasooly, Taiwan’s Puppet Beings Theater, Scapegoat Carnivale of Canada, Fernán Cardama of Argentina, and others. There will also be two exhibitions of Lee’s work, which will be presented in various venues in the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center.

In addition to founding the Village Halloween Parade, Lee, who died on May 12 at 87, is also widely known for creating Saturday Night Live‘s “Land Shark” costume.