I-Fest

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I-Fest is short for the International Festival of Christian Puppetry and Ventriloquism, a six-day annual conference sponsored by Denver-based puppet company, One Way Street, and located on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

The purpose of I-Fest is to promote the use of these arts and train performers to use them in ministry. According to their web site, over 100 workshops are offered in three areas of interest: Christian puppetry, ventriloquism, and puppet ministry leadership. In addition to the classes, attendees can take in world-class performances, enter in team and solo competitions, receive hands-on experience building puppets and props, and browse the vendor hall.

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[edit] History

I-Fest began in 1996 when One Way Street President and CEO Dale VonSeggen wanted to bring a specialty conference that would offer exclusively puppet/vent classes. One Way Street had been offering regional festivals for puppeteers, but these weekend workshops could only touch on basic concepts not the extensive, in-depth information that Dale wanted to offer. I-Fest was to be a one-of-a-kind opportunity for basic and advanced training, mentoring, and inspiration for puppeteers and ventriloquists from around the world. No one had ever tried such an idea. Ten years later, I-Fest has grown to over 1100 attendees and continues to be unique in its field.

[edit] Teachers & Performers

Over the last 10 years, I-Fest has had the best in Christian puppeteers, puppet teams, and ventriloquists. The list includes:

[edit] Ventriloquists

[edit] Puppeteers/Troupes

[edit] Other Performers

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links