Pete the Cat at Center for Puppetry Arts!

I was able to experience a first for me this weekend.  At almost 40 years old, I have never seen a live puppet show!!!  (Please tell me I am not the only one!) So, let me tell you about it. It was at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta and the puppet show featured Pete the Cat.  If you don't know who that is, Pete the Cat is a character in a book that Broxton was first introduced to in preschool, so we are familiar with him and we love that groovy cat!  

Photo Credit - Darrell Hazelrig

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The Center!!!!

Pete the Cat will make his puppet stage debut at the Center for Puppetry Arts, April 4 – May 28! Based on the New York Times best-selling books by Georgia authors James and Kimberly Dean, this original production has been in themaking at the Center for more than two years. Audiences will travel through a day in the life of Pete and all of his groovy adventures that ensue!

As I said, it was my first time at a puppet show, so obviously it was my first time at Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta.  Let me tell you about that first.
When you get there, remember that there are plenty of one way streets there, we sort of missed the parking the first time around!  We eventually got parked and headed inside. Again, you are in Atlanta, so take parking into consideration.  I knew there was limited parking and I wasn't about to go looking for parking with two kids, so we got there super early to guarantee a spot.  (Taking that in mind, I would also recommend the noon showing versus the 2:00 show, since parking might be an issue then.) They have a play ground there, so if you get there "too early" you can let the kids play outside before you head in. 

The stage, ready for the show!  No photography allowed during it, but we were able to snap a photo before it started! 

Once inside you can get your tickets to the show and line up to get your seat. It is general admission, so depending on where you want to sit, you will know when you want to get in line. They don't have "seats" it is a big long bench with padding and a cushion on the back . I thought that was perfect if you have kids that want to sit all on you, you aren't trying to cram everyone into one seat!!  
If you want, you can purchase a pass to see the museum and go check that out while you wait, or you can see it after the show.  They are really laid back on that, so its whatever is best for you and your family.  

Kimberly and James Dean signing books!

We ended up picking a great day to go!  We not only got to see Pete the Cat and his friends enjoying the day, but we also were there for a book signing by the author/ illustrators, Kimberly and James Dean!   That was a new experience for the Center, so there was a bit of frustration, but it ended up all working out.  I do hope that they took the day as a learning experience to try and make improvements for special events like that.  Given that it was a learning event, I will skip past that and focus on the rest of the day.
We got to see the show.  Pete the Cat is basically following a day in the life of Pete, with different book titles as scenes. We had Magic Sunglasses, Valentines Day, Bedtime Blues and more. Remember how I said the creators were there?  We were lucky enough to sit near them, so as the show was going on, it was pretty neat to see them enjoying it for the first time!  I even caught Mr. Dean singing along with Pete!!!!!  
If you are worried about taking younger kids, don't!!! I had an 8 year old and a 1 year old.  In front of us was a 4 year old birthday party and a 5 year old birthday party.  The kids in the party were standing up singing and dancing along with the show!  Savannah got fussy for a bit, (nap-time) and I was able to walk her out, calm her down and then reenter.  NO problems!   We really enjoyed it and I want to go back again!  Pete the Cat is there until the end of May.That is great to allow more people to see it, but selfishly, I wish they would do a new production each month so that we could go again soon to see another show!  
Okay, so we saw the show and then headed to get our books autographed. 

Friends we all know and love!

Big Bird!!!!

Jim Hensons desk!

Fraggles!!!!!  I was immediately taken back to my childhood, even had the song humming in my head!

 After that, we quickly went through the museum.  Like I said, nap-time was being missed and we were having a bit of a meltdown.  We were probably in there about 30 minutes.  They had different scenes from Jim Hensons life.  We got to see his work desk and even got to see Elmo, Big Bird and some of the Fraggles!  I loved that, I got to say HELLO to my childhood as well as let the kids see familiar friends!  

Savannah was captivated by this in the global wing of the museum.

Like I said, I knew nothing about the Labyrinth, but this looked like something many would be familiar with.

The other section of the museum was a global event that both really liked.  We quickly went through the Labyrinth exhibit, but it was unfamiliar to us all, so it was a quick walk through. With our tickets, we were also able to make a Pete the Cat Puppet.  As I said, nap-time was being postponed, so I was happy to see you could grab a to-go kit and make it later.  You can believe that is what we did!  
I am so glad we were invited to such a fun event!!!  We love making memories and this made for a great family day!!!!