LAHORE, March 22: The first National Folk Puppet Festival will begin at the Museum of Puppetry on Raiwind Road on Thursday (today). “The festival is being inaugurated on the World Puppet Day and free folk puppet shows and museum tours besides live parades will be held during the four-day gala,” Tasneem Peerzada of the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop said on Wednesday.

Some puppeteers from Lahore, Bahawalpur and other parts of the Punjab would perform during the maiden festival, she said.

In an attempt to sustain the dying art form, the puppetry festival would be made an annual feature, registering as many folk puppet performers as possible.

An informal workshop for the puppeteers would also be held, enabling them to present 50 to 60 performances annually, especially at schools of their respective areas.