Is There a FestiFools in Your Association’s Future?
How did you spend April Fools’ Day?
James and I joined hundreds of people to dance down Main Street Ann Arbor with enormous street puppets.
These puppets were larger than life - and many took a team of people to manipulate. Think Thanksgiving Day Parade size puppets. You can see the Elvis puppet with his curled lip in the photo.
This debut of the FestiFools experience was the brainchild of Mark Tucker who is a lecturer at the University of Michigan. Tucker wanted to bring art to the community in a very live way.
Students and community volunteers worked side-by-side to build the puppets and to run the event. Volunteer opportunities were promoted in the papers and on Craigslist to recruit locals to help out.
Community members young and old enjoyed the puppets - some even dressed up in their own “fool” costumes to join in the celebration. The event gave wonderful exposure to some of the talented college students in town.
Most associations and chapters have some built-in area of focus in their mission. How can you translate what you do or what you focus on into something as live and fun as the FestiFools?
Filed under: Getting More Members Involved, Magic Meetings
Hi Cynthia,
Thanks so much for your wonderful plug for FestiFools. I love your idea of expanding these kinds of venues for creative expression, particularly by offering many alternative places to express ideas via the many wonderful associations that exist in this country and abroad. Keep up the good work, and see you next April Fools, I hope.
–Mark
Hi Mark!
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I loved your FestiFools event and hope other communities are inspired by the idea.
If I am in town next April Fool’s, I’ll see you on Main Street!
Cynthia