In May 2025 our 8th annual Cattywampus Parade & Block Party took place at Suttree Landing Park! This year’s theme: Our Joy is Powerful.
PROGRAMS
In Spring 2024, Cattywampus Puppet Council piloted an innovative 499: Community Art course in partnership with the UT School of Art for undergrad and grad students. Now an annual spring offering, this unique educational opportunity is funded in part by the Community University Research Collaboration Initiative (CURCI), a forward-thinking grant program offered through the UTK Sociology Department. The Community Art course revolves around Cattywampus’s annual Parade & Block Party, providing UT students with an immersive experience in community-based art through working alongside youth at one of 10 afterschool partner sites Cattywampus hosts through its Youth Art Residency program. Through additional community art case studies and engaging with other local art organizations, UT students deepen their understanding of how art can be a powerful tool for social change.
Special Project: UT School of Art + Cattywampus
Youth Art Residencies
As part of our parade programming, Cattywampus hosts nine-week long art residencies at 10 afterschool partner sites throughout Knoxville each spring. These residencies are completely free to community partners. Cattywampus teaching artists and youth interns meet weekly with students to support them in designing and creating their own original giant puppets and other parade art inspired by the year’s parade theme. Each residency culminates in students forming their own parade crew and sharing their original art with the community at the Cattywampus Parade & Block Party!
Our 2025 youth community partner sites included Centro Hispano’s after-school programs at Belle Morris Elementary, Norwood Elementary, West View Elementary, Lonsdale Elementary and Pellissippi State Community College; Boys & Girls Club sites at Vestal, Montgomery Village, and North Ridge Crossing; The Shora Foundation; and the Wesley House.
Parade Youth Intern Squad
As part of our parade programming each winter/spring, Cattywampus hires local high school art students to work as teaching artist assistants at our Youth Art Residency sites throughout the community. Through this paid workforce development program, students have an opportunity to explore teaching careers in the arts, learn leadership skills, and so much more.
School Parades: Inskip Elementary
In collaboration with Inskip Elementary and our friends at SOCM, Cattywampus piloted its first school and neighborhood-based community arts parade and block party on September 27th, 2025 with robust participation from students, teachers, and their families. We are excited to expand this program in 2026 and partner with additional public schools throughout Knoxville! Learn more about our We Are Inskip: Here Us Roar! Parade & Block Party below:
Community Workshops & Open Studio Days
Cattywampus leads workshops throughout the year in giant puppet making, parade art, storytelling, community-based art, and more! We’re happy to talk with you about bringing a workshop to your space. Contact us here.
Leading up to our annual Parade & Block Party, we offer special Giant Puppet Making & Parade Art 101 workshops geared for teachers, community leaders and other individuals who want to learn how to make art for the parade and organize their own parade crew. We also offer many Open Studio Days where folks can help us work on Cattywampus creations for the Parade or make their own art! Stay tuned for more details and our 2026 workshop schedule.
Resources
At Cattywampus, we believe everyone is an artist and has a story to tell. Visit our “Resources” page to access our free Giant Puppet Making & Parade Art Manual, templates, and other guides to inspire your creativity and help you make something for our Parade or any other occasion that calls for a giant puppet!
Knox Honkers and Bangers
Launched in January 2023 for Cattywampus’s Annual Parade & Street Party, the Knox Honkers & Bangers is a raucous, hot pink, inclusive community marching band!
Theater Projects
Cattywampus also creates original and collaborative theater for all ages! In Fall 2024, we debuted a full-length outdoor pageant with our friends at Dragonfly Aerial Arts and One World Circus called Solastalgia. We are now touring this show and are excited to bring it to Maryville College in April 2026. You can view a peformance reel of Solastalgia here.
Interested in bringing a children’s puppet show to your festival, library, or community event? Please reach out. We love performing throughout the region.