“The Wonders of Wiggly River,” a touring show of Cincinnati-based River City Puppets, will open Knox County’s 2025 Youth Enrichment Series at Knox Memorial Theater on Sept. 3.
Buses will line East High Street as they deliver second-graders from Centerburg, Danville, East Knox, Fredericktown, Mount Vernon and St. Vincent de Paul to the 10 a.m. performance.
The series, designed to introduce young children to live theater, will continue through September and October. Facilitated by the Knox Educational Service Center, the series is funded by the Knox County Foundation except for performances by MTVarts.
In Wednesday’s series opener River City Puppets invites children to “join an adventurous fisherman and a chatty wish fish as they dive into a world of enchanting folktales!
“With a cast of fantastical puppet creatures, they unravel the mysteries of a misunderstood river monster. Together, they discover that true friendship lies just beneath the surface, waiting to be found in the most unexpected places.”
David Shelton is founding artistic director of River City Puppets. For nearly two decades he has written and directed original puppet performances that tour across the country and internationally.
The Youth Enrichment Series will continue with MTVarts performances of “Spongebob the Musical” on Sept. 11 for second-graders and Sept. 12 for third-graders. Those shows are scheduled from 10 to 11:45 a.m.
The remainder of the series, each at 10 a.m., includes:
Sept. 17, Robert Post, “How to survive middle school,” for seventh-graders.
Sept. 18, Tony West’s African Drumming & Imani Dancers, sixth-graders.
Sept. 23, Dylan Shelton and the River City Puppets, “Tales for the Queen,” third-graders.
Sept. 25, Eric Paton, world-class taiko drummer, fifth-graders.
Oct. 8, Sarah Reed, story-telling musician, first-graders.
Oct. 30, Reed again, fourth-graders.
MTVarts plans shows for first-graders on April 23 and kindergarten students on April 24. The titles of those performances will be announced later.
Finally, MTVarts will present “Death of a Salesman” on May 8 for the county’s high school juniors in American literature and English language arts classes.