A celebration of afrobeat, puppets and the arts comes to Southern Village

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation will hold its fourth annual Halloween celebration and costume parade in Southern Village on Oct. 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. Featuring the talents of Paperhand Puppet Intervention and special guest Triangle Afrobeat Orchestra, the event promises to be an exhilarating artistic experience. 

All revenue collected in ticket sales will go back to school arts programs in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area.

Lynn Lehmann, the executive director of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation, said the event aims to be a showcase of the arts rather than Halloween — focusing on artistry in the costume parade, the puppets and Triangle Afrobeat Orchestra’s music.

“Yes, there is Halloween spirit, but there are people in our school district that aren't into Halloween, so we want to make this an inclusive event for all,” Lehmann said. “Paperhand feels the same way, that we're showcasing the puppets, and the music of the Afrobeat orchestra and having a costume parade.”

In keeping with the theme of inclusivity through the arts, Vattel Cherry, the creator of Triangle Afrobeat Orchestra, a 15-member jazz afrobeat band, said the goal is to have people, no matter their demographic, stand up, dance and enjoy themselves.

“I come out of a jazz background, where people sit and listen, and I decided I wanted to reach more people and get people up and moving,” Cherry said. “So this is a way to combine all my musical experiences and try and do something accessible for a large number of people.”

Donovan Zimmerman, co-founder and director of Paperhand Puppet Intervention, said art organizations are important for inspiring people to be creative and to keep the arts alive among all generations. 

“Art is important,"  Zimmerman said. "It’s a big part of the human experience, part of the human heart. And you can't undervalue it in comparison to other academics. So that’s why arts organizations like ours are important to inspire people to think outside of the box.” 

Lehmann said fundraising events like this are pivotal in the enrichment of artistic opportunities for students within the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area.

“Knowing that the proceeds are going to support grants for arts in local schools should be an incentive to come," Lehmann said. "We're hoping that families who have schoolchildren realize that it takes a lot of people working together to bring enrichment opportunities for the arts into their schools, so we're working to do that. And that would be a fantastic reason to come.” 

Katie Murray, director of the Orange County Arts Commission, a government arts agency that provides grants to arts organizations like Lehmann's, said these groups need community support.

"It's a labor of love," Murray said. "And they're not doing it to make a lot of money. They're doing it for the benefit of the community. And so they need donations, they need attendance.”

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