Hennepin Historical Museum
Circle
of Water
Circus
June 2024 to Fall 2026
Main Floor Gallery
The Beginnings
A Puppet Carnival Born from the River
Around 1983, a group of artists moved into a storefront on the south side of Minneapolis with a simple, radical idea: that theatre belonged to everyone. They called themselves In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre — and they set about proving it.
This exhibit preserves that magic. Through ten oral history interviews, rare photographs, and an immersive video experience, visitors are invited inside the story of a community that refused to let its river be forgotten.
They built puppets the size of houses. They marched them through the streets every May Day. They invited their neighbours — all of them, from every background — to march alongside.


The BIG Ones
The “Circle of Water Circus” utilized vibrant, handcrafted fish puppets to bring its message to audiences across twenty-three shows and twenty-one cities along the Mississippi River. These puppets served as central figures in the “Making a Splash” narrative, acting as artistic ambassadors that helped foster a deep emotional connection with the public, from large crowds of 4,000 in St. Louis to small gatherings in Arkansas City. By blending performance with community engagement—such as the “River Faces” workshops and parade—the puppets transformed environmental themes into a “miraculous” and “phenomenal” experience that, according to participants, brought a sense of wonder and creative awakening to the river towns they visited.
“We never asked who you were before you walked through the door. We asked: what story do you need to tell?”
Decades passed. The puppets grew taller. The May Day parades grew larger. And somewhere along the way, a new story began to take shape — one about the river that had always been there, waiting to be heard.
“The river doesn’t belong to anyone. It belongs to everyone who has ever stood at its banks and felt something they couldn’t quite name.”
— Community Voice · Circle of Water Circus Oral History Project
The Great Parade
The Heart
of the Beast
Nothing in the Circle of Water Circus was manufactured. Every puppet, every mask, every costume was built in community workshops — by children, elders, immigrants, and lifelong Minneapolitans, side by side. The act of making was as much the art as the performance itself. These objects carry fingerprints, and they carry stories. They are evidence that something extraordinary happened here, that ordinary people built something beautiful together, and that the river was always watching.
Some of these images are beautifully shared by the community and retrieved from: https://www.hobt.org/history.

Arrival of Lights
2024

Gyre: Song for Millenium
2009

Poisons
2026

Winter Solstice Event (Windstork)
2024

Befriended by the Enemy
HOBT Throughout
the Years

Between the Worlds
Photo by Bruce Silcox

GOTAMA: A Journey to the Buddha

Impact Theory of Mass Extinction
(Photo by Uche Iroegbu

The Ungloomy Mask
2024

Pleasing the Wawa Descendant
Filmed by Gail Glaser

The Reaper’s Tale

Circle of Water Festoon
2026
HOBT Main Stage Performance

A Serpent Beast
Gail Glaser (2024)
The River Speaks
The Everyday People
A ninety-minute puppet and musical epic detailing the history of the Mississippi River. The performance moved through three distinct acts, beginning with the river’s geological formation and its original indigenous stewards. This peaceful atmosphere shifted dramatically with the arrival of European colonizers like Hernando de Soto, followed by a procession of historical figures and events—including Napoleon and the Civil War—that tracked the rise of settlement and the concept of Manifest Destiny.
As the story progressed, the narrative turned toward environmental advocacy, portraying the river’s contamination as “Everyday People” fell under the spell of “Everyday Poisons” like greed and pride. Accompanied by a diverse live score featuring everything from folk accordion to heavy percussion, the show utilized 150 puppets to represent humanity’s impact on nature. Despite the conflicts, the production concluded into aiming to inspire the audience to protect local water sources.
Making a Splash
10 Voices
One Story
of River
The Circle of Water Circus Oral History Project. Hover each portrait to hear their story. All 10 interviews are archived in Minnesota’s local history database.

Performance
“Water has always been at the center of the our stories“
Lucinda Anderson
1
Lucinda Anderson

Craft
“Building these creatures was like building the neighborhood’s dreams“
Steven Epp
2
Steven Epp

Performers
“My kids grew up thinking that’s what springs look like“
Robert Hughs
3
Robert Hughs

History
“We wanted to make art that spilled on the streets and asked questions“
Kevin Kling
4
Kevin Kling

History
“The soundscape was meant to fill memory for us“
Larry Long
5
Larry Long

Design
“Every piece was made by community hands. Not a metaphor“
Nancy Olsen
6
Nancy Olsen

Education
“Kids who made the puppet will come back as adults – a legacy“
Esther Ouray
7
Esther Ouray

Advocacy
“A parade can be a protest and protest can be beautiful“
Jim Ouray
8
Jim Ouray

Crafts
“When you put one on. You’re not just performing your continuing something“
Marg Rozycki
9
Marg Rozycki

Community
“Each time, something in this neighborhood felt more alive afterward“
Steve Sandberg
10
Steve Sandberg
“In the Heart of the Beast showed us that a neighborhood can be a theater, and a community can be the cast.“
— Minnesota Historical Society · Circle of Water Exhibit

Watch · Documentary Film
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See the Circus Come Alive
The documentary film — also accessible via QR code throughout the exhibit — captures the full spectacle of the Circle of Water Circus.
Available on YouTubeMN
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