Paperhand Puppet Project has been a partner, a collaborator, and a friend to Haw River Assembly for years. Paperhand founders Donovan Zimmerman and Jan Burger met while they were volunteering at the Haw River Learning Celebration in the late 1990s. They formed Paperhand Puppet Intervention in 1998. Paperhand has provided puppets and art for advocacy events and the annual Haw River Festival for decades. They’ve continued to be huge supporters of our Haw River Learning Celebration and helped with many other HRA projects, including our "River Spirit" that was created using litter from our litter traps (pictured below).

Paperhand Puppet Project performances are a beautiful collaboration of storytelling, narrative work, and values-based resilience. Every show and every puppet radically connects elements of environmental stewardship and work to real, living things. Paperhand embodies a principle we share at HRA - the most effective tool in encouraging people to care about the River and our environment is getting people to FEEL something. No one does that like Paperhand Puppet Project.

Speaking of feeling amazing things, if you haven’t seen this summer’s show yet, don’t miss it!  Buy your tickets for an amazing storytelling experience, The Wild Wisdom of the World, on their website.