Squonk is a group of musicians and artists producing boisterous outdoor spectacles that fuse fantastical visual design, playful staging, and high-energy original music.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Squonk continues a multi-city tour of its free outdoor spectacle Hand to Hand, traveling to cities in both the U.S. and Canada. Led by Co-Artistic Directors Jackie Dempsey and Steve O'Hearn, Squonk is a group of musicians and artists producing boisterous outdoor spectacles that fuse fantastical visual design, playful staging, and high-energy original music.
Hand to Hand is a joyous, participatory event that brings audiences together for a humorous, uplifting visual extravaganza. Propelled by Squonk's rollicking music, the show features two giant purple puppet hands, designed so the audience can grab the rigging and be part of the show.
Squonk offers audiences the chance to experience the allure and thrill of community, uniting people in a public setting.
"Hand to Hand combines surrealism, pop art, serious musical chops, theatrical invention, and accessibility all at once," explains Todd Wetzel, Executive Director of Purdue Convocations. "There's something for everyone here, but it doesn't drive down the middle of the road to accomplish that, and that's flat out brilliant."
Squonk kicked off its 30th anniversary tour on March 14. Spring and summer tour cities included Davenport, Iowa; Fairmont and St. Paul, Minnesota; Potsdam, Patchogue and Lewiston, New York; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Bethlehem and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Fort Worth, Texas. Fall dates include:
Calgary, Alberta, Canada: ArtsCommons from August 29-31, 2022; https://blog.artscommons.ca/home/squonk
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: Supercrawl from September 10-11, 2022; https://supercrawl.ca/
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Hands on Science Showdown, part of the 2022 Annual Conference of the Association of Science and Technology Centers, hosted by the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Science Center, on September 14, 2022; https://pittsburghkids.org/handsonscienceshowdown
Raleigh, NC: NC State from September 17-18, 2022; https://live.arts.ncsu.edu/
Wilmington, NC: DREAMS Center for Arts Education, Sponsored by Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College, on September 23, 2022; https://wilsoncentertickets.com/
Columbia, SC: Koger Center for the Arts at the University of South Carolina from September 25-26, 2022; https://kogercenterforthearts.com/
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