THAI PUPPETEERS STAR IN POLAND

The road to success wasn’t paved with roses, but Nardthaya Burapha Club has made Thailand proud of its awards at the World Puppet Carnival 2016 in Poland.

Its show, The First Human in the World, won the Best Carnival Performance award in the Grand Prix category.

The club also won the Young Puppeteers award at the competition in Lodz from Sept 24-30.

“We are proud of the awards. They are sources of national pride,” said troupe director Den Halert.

A budget of nearly two million baht was required mainly for travel costs for 25 team members and other expenses, he said.

He had around 200,000 baht when he learned that the team had passed its audition for the carnival, he said.

Young team members sold drinks at local markets after school and on weekends to get money.

The Ministry of Culture allocated a budget of 400,000 baht to the team after it learned of its financial problem, Mr Den said.

He thanked donors who love art and culture by making financial contributions to support his team, saying his team had raised public funds via Facebook for travel expenses.