Culture

She should know.

Forty-three years ago, Hornaday presented her first show during a motherdaughter banquet at her church. Word got around, and soon she was receiving invitations to perform for holidays, benefits, and corporate events.

Hornaday’s hand puppets have joined Jim Henson’s Muppets, Mr. McFeely from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Mary Martin. She writes witty scripts for such characters as “Hayfever,” the scarecrow from Wizard of Oz, Santa’s elves, and even Punch and Judy.  

Some of her puppets were part of a cultural exchange with Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and others welcomed troops returning home from Operation Desert Storm. Today, although she only gives a few shows a year, Hornaday’s passion for puppetry is as strong as ever, and she now has a concrete way to display it.

What started out as part of a beautification project for the historic town of Chestertown has became the Garden Puppet Theatre Mini-Museum Exhibit. The museum, located inside the Kent County Visitor Center, is open year-round, presenting ongoing exhibits, puppet shows, and workshops.

The Garden Theatre is one of only two members from Maryland accepted into Puppeteers of America, a national organization dedicated to the art of puppetry.

Hornaday’s shows are filled with fantasy and fascinating facts. For instance, in “The President and Patsy,” which is performed on George and Martha (aka “Patsy”) Washington’s wedding anniversary, the audience learns that Patsy contributed more than $24,000 of her own money to the Revolutionary War effort and wore only brown homespun dresses until the war was over.

Each year, Hornaday performs her popular holiday show on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to a soldout crowd. A preshow workshop offers kids the chance to get in on the act by making their own puppet to take home.

In this way, the art of puppetry continues to be handed down. In the words of Jim Henson, “Life’s like a movie. Write your own ending; keep believing, keep pretending.”

The 2011 Holiday Puppet Show takes place Saturday, November 26, at 1 p.m. (the “Make a Puppet, Be a Puppeteer” workshop begins at noon) in the Chestertown Town Hall. Seating is limited, and reservations are required. Call 410-778-5841. For more information on the Kent County Visitor Center, visit www.chestertown.com/visitor_center.php.

Upcoming Puppet Shows

“The President and Patsy”

A celebration of the wedding day of George and Martha Washington.

Twelfth Night, January 6, 2012

“Rosie’s Posies”

Based on the children’s book by Marcy Dunn Ramsey.

A little girl with a curiosity as big as all outdoors discovers the magic of the garden.

Spring performance TBA

For more information on these and other performances, contact Patsy Hornaday at 410-778-5841 or tph203@verizon.net.