The Youth Golden Palm Award went to Chen Huijun, the lead actress of Wuzhou Xiaotaoyuan Palm Theater Company, who performed "The Red and Black Scarf: Flying into the Rescue". (Photo provided by Yunlin County Government)
[Reporter Li Wende/Yunlin Report] The annual event "Yunlin International Puppetry Festival" will be held from September 29th to October 12th. Headed by the Golden Palm Award and the Youth Golden Palm Award, a total of 15 outstanding theater groups will perform in the Agricultural Expo Park for 6 consecutive nights from today to October 4th. The County Government’s Cultural and Cultural Affairs Office stated that this year’s “Golden Palm Award” takes children’s drama as the competition theme and is expected to be exciting. In addition, the average age of the Young Golden Palm Award winners is 26.2 years old, with the youngest being 17 years old. People who love puppetry are welcome to go and watch the show.
今年金掌獎主題為「兒童劇目」，10組優秀團隊將在農博公園飆偶藝。 (File photo, taken by reporter Li Wende)
文觀處長謝明璇表示，金掌獎是全台唯一持續進行的偶戲擂台賽已邁入第20屆， Since its establishment in 2007, it has been planned with the concept of biennale, one year is "Children's Drama", another is "Traditional Classics", and this year it is the turn of "Children's Drama"; the Youth Golden Palm Award is to encourage young artists under the age of 40 to participate. This is the 9th edition so far. Starting from the 29th, the Puppet Show Festival will be held at the Agricultural Expo Park at 6pm for 6 consecutive days.
Xie Mingxuan said that the 10 teams of this year's Golden Palm Award can see the complete and diverse artistic spectrum of Taiwan's puppet theater, including Shengping Wuzhou Garden, Zhenyunlin Pavilion Palm Theater, Wuzhou Shengyi Pavilion Palm Theater, Golden Eagle TV Puppet Theater, Yunlin Wuzhou Little Theater Taoyuan Palm Theater Company, Xiao Xiyuan Fourth Generation Palm Theater Company, Today Palm Theater Company, Wulong Garden Palm Theater Company, Lanson Place Palm Theater Company and Taiwan Northern and Southern Traditional Drama Association are not only competing for the Golden Palm Award, but also creating the most complete artistic landscape of contemporary puppetry.
Xie Mingxuan said that the Youth Golden Palm Award will be presented immediately to five teams including Shangxiyuan Palm Theater Company, Guangming Comprehensive Art Troupe, Shengping Wuzhou Garden, Golden Eagle TV Puppet Theater Company, and Yunlin Wuzhou Xiaotaoyuan Palm Theater Company. The average age of the participating actors is 26.2 years old, showing the diverse capabilities of the new generation. He hopes that young actors will incorporate innovative thinking on the basis of tradition, so that the puppet show will continue to display rich artistic energy.
This year’s Youth Golden Palm Award will include Qiu Yufu, a 17-year-old second-generation descendant of Shangxiyuan Palm Theater Company, who will lead the team to perform "Restore the Chu Palace". (Photo provided by Yunlin County Government)
Xie Mingxuan pointed out that this year's Youth Golden Palm Award will include Qiu Yufu, a 17-year-old second-generation descendant of the Shangxiyuan Palm Theater Company, who will lead the team to perform "Fu Chu Palace". In addition, the Wuzhou Xiaotaoyuan Palm Theater Company will lead the performance of "Red and Black Scarf: Flying into the Rescue" by the female lead Chen Huijun. He hopes that the six-day puppetry competition will showcase the strength of Taiwan's puppetry.
The Culture and Tourism Office stated that the six-day competition will also launch a check-in and draw gift event. People will go to the event venue, like the Puppet Show Festival Facebook page, take photos with the competition team at the performance, add #2026Yunlin International Puppet Show Festival in Huwei, and check in on their personal page to participate in the lottery. The Golden Palm Award Ceremony will also be held at the county track and field stadium on the evening of October 11.
Li Jingye, director of Zhenyunlin Pavilion Palm Theater, said that the Golden Palm Awards is a very representative and important event in the puppet show industry. As a local team in Yunlin, we hope to participate in the event and hope to produce outstanding new creations so that the public can see the innovation of the troupe.
The annual event "Yunlin International Puppetry Festival" will be held from September 29 to October 12. Headed by the Golden Palm Award and the Youth Golden Palm Award, a total of 15 outstanding theater groups will perform in the Agricultural Expo Park for 6 consecutive nights from today to October 4. (File photo, taken by reporter Li Wende)
