Fort Nisqually Living History Museum’s next special exhibit, Punch and Judy: 350 Years of Laughter, opens on August 11 during the annual Brigade Encampment event. The exhibit, which runs through November 25, explores the history of Punch and Judy and details the life of fort worker Aubrey Dean.
Brigade Encampment takes place from 11 am to 5 pm on August 11 and 12. Fort Nisqually comes to life with volunteers portraying trappers from 1855 returning to pick up their contracts for the next year. These fur brigades camp overnight, 1850s style, in the field next to the fort. All buildings are open and staffed with volunteers who welcome the opportunity to explain how they cook, make fires, do beadwork and answer questions.
Visitors can enjoy entertainment such as fur trappers’ races, an elegant ladies’ tea, puppet shows, dancing to the music of bagpipes and can participate in hands-on presentations during the popular “Engagé for the Day” program. This program teaches skills that were useful in the 1850s, such as fire starting with flint and steel, blacksmithing, or spinning wool. Upon completion of the program visitors are signed on as honorary apprentices for the day with the Hudson’s Bay Company!
Kelsey Sample, also known as Professor Petticoat, will perform Punch and Judy shows at 12:30 and 3 pm on Saturday, August 11and 3 pm on Sunday, August 12. Kelsey trained in England under a master Punch Professor. A video of her puppet show will be shown as part of the ongoing Punch and Judy exhibit.
Punch and Judy was first performed in England in 1662 as an Italian marionette show and has evolved into the uniquely English puppet show that is still popular today. In 1855, Fort Nisqually workers were treated to a Punch and Judy presentation by Aubrey Dean, a young man from London. Dean was described by his contemporaries as a Cockney, a young London street rascal and a comic genius. His performance had fur trappers literally rolling on the ground in hysterics. One account at the time revealed how a fur trapper fell “on the floor, in paroxysms of laughter…. I am sure this old fellow and others of the band never forgot Monsieur Punch and I can fancy how often the story of the show would be told by the campfire and in the wilds of the trappers’ camps in the Rockies.”
Admission to Brigade Encampment is $8.50 for adults; $7.50 for senior/student/active military & spouse; $5.50 for youth and $31 for families (up to 2 adults and 6 youth). For additional information, please contact Fort Nisqually at (253) 591-5339, fortnisqually@tacomaparks.com or visit the website at FortNisqually.org.
Located in Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park, Fort Nisqually Living History Museum is a restoration of the Hudson’s Bay Company outpost on the Puget Sound where visitors can journey back in time to the mid-nineteenth century. Fort Nisqually Living History Museum is a facility of Metro Parks Tacoma.
