It started ten years ago as a good idea. Now the annual Giant Puppet Parade is one of the highlights of the Siem Reap calendar. I watched it last year from the sidelines and wrote about that experience here. But this year, I was a part of it.
The project is the largest children’s art project in Cambodia. For several weeks leading up to the parade, local children’s NGO’s work on the design and creation of their puppets, with the children taking part in every step of the process. Once again, this is all about empowering kids through creativity and the arts. Anjali House has been a part of it from the start, although last year we didn’t have a puppet in the parade. But this year we did. We were one of three monkeys which danced and fought their way through the streets of Siem Reap.
But these aren’t just very big puppets. These all have moving heads and limbs, they are all lit up with fairy lights, their eyes wink, their tongues wag. And they each take several strong men or teens to carry them. They are absolutely amazing. The entire city shuts down and everyone, and I mean thousands standing 6-deep along the roads, comes out to watch. The kids, teachers and volunteers, including me, were smack in the middle, carrying our monkey. The kids led cheers of monkey sounds and the Khmer equivalent of Hip Hip Hooray, Anjali! The sound was deafening. It was hot, exhausting and the most fun I’ve had in a very long time. I always think Siem Reap looks magical at night, but this turned the entire city into a fantasy. People often come here for a few days of temple hopping and think that’s all Siem Reap has to offer. Well, that is far from true, and those lucky ones who find themselves here in February will be in for an experience of a lifetime.
tired boys after the parade
the crowd
![photo 2[1]](https://sueguiney.opte.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/3103/media/photo-211.jpg)
horse and rider
Our monkeys
What a fabulous opportunity for students – the creation of the puppet the vehicle for forming bonds, overcoming challenges, having fun and creating a memory to make them smile down the years. What a wonderful thing to do.
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