The celebration of the Indiana Park System’s 100th birthday continues.
The Family Folklore Foundation players are adding a twist to their previous radio play, “Heroes’ Quest: the Indiana Dunes State Park” by adding a puppet factor to their upcoming Sunday performance.
“We added the puppet show for several reasons,” said Meg Granfield-DeMakas, of Winfield, president of FFF and co-author of the show. “We use puppetry for teaching. Last year, we had full costumes in our radio play and it confused some of the audience — they wondered if this was a play practice or a radio show.”
To prevent confusion, players went back to a hint of costuming.
“Then we did want to show some fauna and flora of the Dunes, plus we included a newcomer to our group, Seth Odenthal,” Granfield-DeMakas added. “He is a young man who is a puppeteer, and he suggested a full-fledged puppet stage and a host of top-notch puppets. We also recruited an awesome seamstress who created our time machine”
It added up to two talking tree puppets and a lot of animals on a gigantic puppet stage.
Twelve members of the FFF will perform the original history play, “Heroes’ Quest: the Indiana Dunes State Park,” about the timeline of the park as their debut performance of using puppets to represent woodland animals found in the state park.
Audience members will be transported to an informative space where outdoor fun experiences at the Indiana Dunes abound.
More Top Picks Best Amazon Prime Day Delonghi Espresso Machine Deals 2026
Over the course of the play, which has been described as an intergenerational, multicultural play about the Dunes — penned by two homegrown writers, Granfield-DeMakas and Rebecca Swerdon — the storyline covers the experiences of the Granville family as they discover the true concept of the heroes who “saved” the Dunes.
Visitors will travel via a time machine meeting nature enthusiasts such as Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, among the well-known figures who figure prominently in the play.
Live music and sound effects offered by musical artist Marie Fryar, of Hobart, round out the presentation.
This upcoming radio play is the third in an original series written by Granfield-DeMakas. A documentary and audio version of the play being produced about “Heroes’ Quest: the Indiana Dunes State Park” will be available in the spring.
Another documentary produced by FFF, “Happy Birthday, Parks”, won in its category in the Dunes Film Festival. The award is scheduled to appear in a segment of “Eye on the Arts” next year.
Also a different documentary, “Radio Renaissance” has been entered in five other various film festivals.
The Family Folklore Foundation’s mission is to offer educational opportunities to intergenerational community members using literacy and problem-solving strategies to make the world a better place, according to Granfield-DeMakas.
All productions are volunteer-run, and proceeds go toward a multitude of projects dedicated to promoting literacy and arts education in Northwest Indiana.
The Family Folklore Foundation is undecided about its next projects.
“We’re throwing around the idea of having people research their own cultural roots and then we would share our new learning with the rest of the world — via presentations, such as a radio play and/or puppet show, documentaries, coffee table books, websites, blogs, podcasts, and audio versions of our radio plays on www.prx.org,” Granfield-DeMakas said.
Sue Ellen Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
‘Heroes’ Quest: the Indiana Dunes State Park Radio Play and Puppet Show’
When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday; doors open at 3 p.m.
Where: Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts, 540 S. Lake St., Gary.
Tickets: $8 adults; $4 children 12 and under.
Information: Email [email protected] or call Granfield-DeMakas at 219-616-7299.