High Sierra Music Festival Parades with ArtJoy.org

Step into a living storybook and join ArtJoy.org (also known as Giant Puppets Save the World) for the 12th year of leading joyful, participatory parades at High Sierra Music Festival.

Led by renowned Northern California artist Toni Tone Mikulka-Chang, these colorful processions bring together giant handmade puppets, stilt walkers, giant bubbles, hand-painted silk flags, a live roving band, playful pageantry, music, movement, and community celebration. Featuring original, award-winning wearable art, costumes, and puppets created by Toni, the parades blend the magic of Northern California and Pacific Northwest festival art with the wild imagination of a handmade storybook come to life.

Festival goers of all ages are invited to join the magic as we move through the festival grounds with towering creatures, bright banners, colorful characters, floating bubbles, music, and collaborative parade energy. Each parade is an invitation to play, connect, dress up, make art, and become part of the living artwork of High Sierra.

Come early to the Goat Barn to get dressed up in parade regalia at our costume booth and get painted by parade crew staff before we take off.

This year’s daily parade themes are:

Thursday at 6:30pm: Inaugural Nevada County Fairgrounds HSMF Parade — Silver Theme
Wear silver, sparkle, shimmer, moonlight, metallics, shiny white, and anything that celebrates High Sierra’s first year at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. Let's celebrate this new location for our beloved festival community!

Friday at 6:30pm: River Water Blues — Yuba River ParadeNew this year, we will feature an entire parade dedicated to the Yuba River, her waters, her wild beauty, and all of the creatures who live along her banks. Dress in flowing blues, teals, aqua, indigo, deep river tones, and water-inspired shimmer as we honor the movement, mystery, and life-giving spirit of the Yuba River and the waterways of the Sierra Foothills. Come as a fish, frog, heron, dragonfly, otter, ripple, wave, river rock, or magical river creature. Come and play.

Saturday at 6:30pm: Vintage Red, White, and Blue — Joy to the WorldBring your handmade red, white, and blue festival spirit for a joyful rock ’n’ roll parade celebration. Think vintage Americana, thrift-store sparkle, patched denim, stars, stripes, fringe, bandanas, boots, ribbons, bells, flowers, and anything pieced together with love.  This is not about buying something new — it’s about reclaiming our colors through creativity, community, and local imagination. Thrift it, sew it, paint it, patch it, sparkle it, and make it your own. Vintage. Handmade. Local. Reclaimed. Joy to the World.

Sunday at 11:00am: Kids Parade — Pattern Mash-Up
Bring on the stripes, spots, polka dots, plaids, rainbows, silly hats, wild prints, tutus, capes, sparkles, and wonderfully mismatched magic. This Sunday morning parade is all about kid-powered creativity, joyful chaos, big imagination, and dressing up in whatever makes you feel most wildly yourself.

Giant Puppet Making Workshop

Help us build something BIG. Every day from 12:00pm to 2:00pm near the Goat Barn, ArtJoy will host a giant puppet-making workshop where festivalgoers can help dream, build, paint, decorate, and bring new puppet creations to life for their parade debut.

Thursday, 12:00pm–2:00pm: Visioning, design, and puppet concept development
Friday, 12:00pm–2:00pm: Building armatures and sculptural forms with recycled and found materials
Saturday, 12:00pm–2:00pm: Painting, decorating, and finishing details
Sunday, 12:00pm–2:00pm: Puppet play, repair, celebration, and post-parade puppet magic

Giant Bubble Art

Every morning from 10:00am to 11:00am, kids of all ages are invited to come play with giant bubble art near the Goat Barn. Come make bubbles, chase bubbles, dance through bubbles, and start the day with joyful High Sierra magic.

Want to reserve your puppet spot, join the parade crew, volunteer in advance, or sign up to help? Contact Toni Tone Mikulka-Chang at GiantPuppetMaven@gmail.com.

Giant puppets save the world when we all work together to make them fly.

Created with recycled, reclaimed, and sustainable materials, ArtJoy’s puppets and pageantry celebrate creativity, ecology, and the power of people coming together in joyful motion.