Performances To Grow On will present the acclaimed Catskill Puppets of New York in a special holiday presentation of "Hiawatha" on Friday, Nov. 23 at 4 pm at the Scherr Forum Theatre, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Tickets are $16 for kids and $22 for adults and are available at the box office or by phoning 805-646-8907.

Using full sets, exquisitely crafted puppets, and accompanied by Native American flute and drum, this enchanting play is filled with talking animals, fantastic spirits and an inspirational story. The play is based on the life of the great Iroquois hero, Hiawatha. As a boy, Hiawatha's curiosity leads him to disobey his grandmother's advice and takes him to seek a vision in the forest-alone. It is here that he discovers a sacred cave and enters a world of magic full of great spirits and animals that speak. He encounters a wise Mohawk, The Peacemaker who teaches him an important and beautiful lesson. At last, with the assistance of his friends, Bear and Turtle, Hiawatha finds the path that he must follow in order to become a great man.

Since 1979, John Potocnik and Carol Mandigo, co-founders of the CatskillPuppet Theater, have been touring internationally, enchanting your and old with their delightful musical productions. Combining backgrounds in art, music, drama and American folk culture, they head one of the nation's finest touring companies, receiving accolades from such premiere venues as the Calgary, Winneg and Ottawa International Children's Festivals, New York's Symphony Space, Chataugua Institution, First Night Boston and NewYork, New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts and hundreds moretheaters, schools, libraries, fairs and festivals. The Catskill Puppet Theater takes great pride in carrying on in the living tradition of the old traveling puppet troupes, bringing high quality children's theater to over 100,000 people each year!

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