The 6th edition of Cluj-Napoca's WonderPuck street festival holds its latest edition yet, attracting over 300 international performers

WonderPuck, an open-air street puppet/music festival, concluded its three-day run with a performance from Rock Academy Cluj on the big stage at Unirii Square on Sunday, September 11, 2022. The festival ran from September 9 to 11 this year.

The 6th edition, which gathered around 300 artists from Australia, Brazil, Italy, Great Britain, Holland, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania, combined the art of puppetry with live opera and classical music - a perfect setting to celebrate the beginning of autumn with kids in a family-friendly environment.

This year, the festival took place in four primary locations: Bánffy Castle in Bonţida, Unirii Square, the Art Museum, and the Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography with financial aid from the City Hall and the Local Council of Cluj-Napoca worth RON 160,000.

Most importantly, showrunner "Puck" Puppet Theater, Cluj-Napoca, offered free access to all events for everyone of all ages, which included the "DaSilva Puppet Circus" show by Dutch artists from Noisy Oyster and the hilarious "Oul sau găina" ("The Egg or the Chicken") by Tăndărică Animation Theater, Bucharest.

In addition to the puppets and the music, families and their little ones were also welcomed to participate in stilt artists, workshops, and games that the festival offered.

Last year, WonderPuck invited over 10,200 spectators for its 50 events and activities in 5 stages, with an addition of the Magic Puppet Theatre courtyard. The first edition took place in 2017 with three scenes and one location at Unirii Square.

(Photo credits: Primaria Cluj-Napoca)