The Peoples’ Climate March in New York City in September was the first time since the late 80’s that I carried a puppet for Bread and Puppet in a protest setting. The march was dedicated to climate change and the collective outrage of 400,000 folks who want a sustainable future for all life as we know it.

The Bread and Puppet contingent performed the following sequence of street theater in protest of the Tar Sands, which are nothing more than death and destruction. Seventy caribou got killed by the tar sands monster (operated by 4-6 people) that then animated 8 or so dancing corporate skeletons. The evil system (operated by me and 9 others) then reveled in our awful power but got beaten down by a dancing woman and a crew of 10-20 butterflies, followed by the “fists of resistance” (10-20 people) who raised up the chant “No tar sands!” The giant skull we are carrying features a maple leaf in the center of the skull symbolizing the Canadian government, the skull being the symbol of death. At the end of this sequence, the band would strike up a raucous tune, and keep us moving.