In September, I witnessed one of the coolest community art events I’ve ever seen: Oskaloosa’s lighted puppet parade, courtesy of William Penn University Theatre Director Brant Bollman; puppeteer and founder of Thingumajig Theatre, Andrew Kim; loads of William Penn students and faculty; the good folks from George Daily Community and FACE (Fine Art and Cultural Events) Mahaska County; and Oskaloosa High School art students.

Students worked for two weeks with Andrew and Brant making puppets, then staged a community-wide puppet parade on the town's recreation trail, complete with a drum line. It was something else.