Giant puppets are set to invade the streets of Siem Reap after not being sighted in the town since 2019.

“After the isolation from a three-year global pandemic, we feel it’s the perfect time to shake the dust off, plug into youthful energy, highlight the resilience of our community, and reinstate the much-loved and highly-acclaimed Giant Puppet Parade,” says puppet project co-director Stuart Cochlin.

“The Giant Puppet Project, the largest children’s community arts initiative, has been teaching children and youth that art can enrich their lives, give voice to their imaginations, ignite pride in their rich heritage, and unite their communities – and never has this felt more vital than now.”

The theme of this year’s puppet project is Brave Khmer or Khmer Klahahn, and the much-loved project finale, the Street Parade, starts at 6.30pm on March 11, with the  procession beginning outside Wat Damnak Pagoda. Then as usual, wending its way through downtown streets where, according to Stuart Cochlin, “Anticipated large crowds will cheer on the throngs of children, musicians and performers who electrify the night with their contagious joy and creative achievements, reminding us all what it means to be truly alive and part of something greater than ourselves. Coming out of Covid, it is time to take a deep breath and celebrate Cambodian resilience and how remarkably this country weathered the storm.”

This year’s puppets honour everyday Cambodians, and the puppets will include ‘The Mother,’ who keeps the family unit together; ‘The Farmer,’ representing the many Cambodians who rendered jobless by pandemic vicissitudes, turned to farming; plus, a representation of Preah Vesindor, which translates as Cambodian spiritual resilience and was also the title of a 1993 film, starring Piseth Pilika, Ampor Tevi and Tep Rindaro.

This year, more than 420 children will help make the puppets by participating in workshops. Most of the children in the main workshop come from over a dozen local NGOs and schools including Friends International, Reach, Anjali House, Heartprint, ABC’s & Rice, One family at a Time, Stepping Stones, Helping Hands, Global Child, Kulen Outreach, and primary schools from Pouk District.

Children from the wider community and all the other main schools can also join in by attending an open workshop on March 4 and 5 – there will be two sessions daily in the mornings and afternoons. Children must attend both days and be available to participate in the street parade. Cost per child is $35 and $30 per child, if there is more than one child per family.

“Our Artist Team, all graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak’s Visual Arts School in Battambang, is already sketching away the frameworks for this year’s family of puppets and are eager to welcome back the hundreds of children who will join the puppet making workshops,” says Stuart Cochlin.

Project sponsors at time of publishing include Rural Schools Support Organisation (RSSO), Urban Living Solutions (ULS), Jaya House, Shinta Mani, Phare Ponleu Selpak Siem Reap, Centre for Khmer Studies, Pactics, Baahu Villa and the Wildlife Conservation Society.