We are working on this event for close to eight month now and are just entering the hot phase. Tying up loose ends and promoting! Originally it was called “Puppet Festival”. The manager of the art centre and I, we are both totally excited about the whole affair. We got funding from the local council and everything seems to run smoothly except – and that is the big dampener – whenever we talk about puppets everybody’s eyes seem to glaze over. Strangely though, and I am single minded enough to do that, when you continue to talk, people do get interested in our plans. So, we finally decided to give it a new spin and renamed it to The Festival of Performing Objects. Admittedly it sounds much more grown-up and I actually I do love the new name.
We are still looking for artists who want to take part in the group exhibition and also for performers and stall holders on market day. So, if you live in New Zealand and want to take part, get in touch….
dedepuppets 
Ich wünsche Euch viel Erfolg, LG juergen
Vielen Dank. Jürgen.
This sounds like great news, I like the name, and the funding is secure too! Perhaps the word “puppet” has taken on more of a negative tone because we hear the term in other unflattering contexts? For example…Joe’s actions made it clear that he is just a puppet for the corporate world! I’m laughing at my own example here which was the first to come to mind! In addition, I think most people’s experience with puppets are on a small scale which reduces their potential significance. Anyway, best of luck with your FoPO!
You are right, those examples give the puppets such a bad name. Only on the weekend there was an article in the paper about match fixing in cricket and what did they use to illustrate the story: A full page string puppet.
But any puppeteer will tell you that puppets have a mind of their own. They are capable to unearth stuff you never would have thought of. (I am pretty sure your sculptures take you by the hand and tell you their story :)