FARMINGTON – The Foothills Arts Center invites adults and youth in grades four and up to join a day of fun and creative learning with shadow puppets and folk tales from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at the First Congregational Church.

Andrew Harris of the Figures of Speech Theatre of Freeport will teach the workshop. Working in small groups, participants will create shadow puppets that will act out folk tales and classic stories.

Participants will learn the storytelling, acting and art techniques of the ancient art form that is found all over the world.

Advance sign-up is required as space is limited, so call or e-mail Anne Geller at Foothills Arts Center soon to reserve a space: 778-0448; info@foothillsarts.org. The fee is $28 a person or $45 for an adult-youth pair. A sliding fee is available for people who cannot afford the full fee.

Carol and John Farrell founded Figures of Speech Theatre in 1982 to explore the interplay of puppets, actors, shadows, music, movement and masks. They are four-time recipients of the Union Internationale de la Marionette Citation of Excellence, the highest distinction in North American puppet theater. They have performed extensively.

Figures of Speech is also conducting workshops and performances in the SAD 9 schools this spring and will perform in Farmington on June 3. Their visits to the community are funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which is a partnership of SAD 9, UMF and the Foothills Arts Center.