Paperhand Puppet Intervention launches 19th annual summer show Friday

Paperhand Puppet Intervention's 19th annual summer show launches this Friday in Chapel Hill and will eventually make its way to Raleigh in September.

The popular outdoor puppet show features puppets of all kinds and sizes, live music and "cardboard" trickery.

"This year’s show, 'In the Heart of the Fire' explores the paradoxical gift of fire. We ask, 'What makes us who we are? Is it our cleverness, the machines we forge and the towers we build? Or is it the stories we share and the fire in our hearts?,'" the group's website says. "We tell tales of fire, of giants and trolls, of trickster creators and how we came to be human."

The show is designed for all ages. It's something many families go to year after year.

This summer's show stops first at the Forest Theatre in Chapel Hill where it's on stage on select days from Aug. 3 to Sept. 3 and Sept. 14 to Sept. 23. The suggested donations for the Chapel Hill shows are $15 for adults and $8 for kids. Nobody is turned away for lack of funds.

It stops at the N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh for shows Sept. 7 to Sept. 9. Tickets for the Raleigh shows are $17 for adults and $8.50 for kids ages 7 to 18. Kids 6 and under are free.

Paperhand's website has the details.