The cast and crew had a wonderful time presenting our Chautauqua last Saturday afternoon and evening. Even better, our audiences loved it too.
A total of 240 folks attended one of the two shows. When we asked them to rate and share their experience via SurveyMonkey, one third of ticket purchasers responded with overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Eight-five percent of respondents rated the show ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ overall. The same percentage rated both the diversity of the acts and the skills of the performers similarly. And ninety percent thought the length was just right.
Wow. Darn good for a first go at a variety show!
The majority of the respondent comments were equally congratulatory; here’s a selection:
“I loved the variety and the amateur and professional variety too. I loved how it was so local and I loved how it was clearly a production of people who care and love our community and Puppets Up so much. There were many surprises in the show too and that was also super fun.”
“Everyone was very polished. It was a great mix of physical gags, whimsy, history, music, humor and mischievous puppets. The sound and lighting were excellent.”
“For a community variety show it exceeded my expectations.”
“It’s a wonderful community-building event and brings a lot of pleasure to a lot of people, encouraging the development of local talent.”
“Well done. Almonte has such a rich Arts community both professional and amateur / I love them all.”
“An absolutely lovely afternoon – the variety embraced the Chautauqua spirit beautifully and the puppets added so much.”
“A very enjoyable evening with great entertainment at a good price point.”
Were the reviews and comments universally glowing? Of course not! Some folks at the back of the hall said they had trouble hearing some of the performers (we’ll do better on the sound next time). Not everyone enjoyed ALL the acts. But everyone liked some if not all. We think that’s to be expected. The show was diverse, so was the audience – you can’t please everyone, right?
At the end of the day, we were delighted with the result of our efforts to bring people in our community together for two joyful, entertaining and spirited shows featuring primarily local amateur talent.
Thanks to our volunteer cast and crew, our sponsors and to all those who bought tickets to the shows, which together raised several thousand dollars for the 2026 Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival and the Noreen Young Award for the Arts.
Thanks also to everyone who responded to our survey with your excellent feedback.
