NL_121219

10 | December 12, 2019 | the new lenox patriot news
newlenoxpatriotdaily.com
Puppets, Santa Claus and a good cause come together for holiday breakfast at Little Joe’s
2
Kyle LaHucik
Freelance Reporter
Cheer spread through
Little Joe’s Pizza in New
Lenox on Sunday, Dec. 8.
Puppets dashed across the
stage as Dave Herzog’s
Marionettes put on a variety
show for approximately
20 children and their
families. Soon after, Santa
Claus hoisted the children
onto his lap to inquire what
they would like for Christmas
this year.
The Breakfast with
Santa event brought a few
hours of peace and joy to
approximately 70 people,
especially the Dunworth
family. The event was
hosted by the Marc Dunworth
Foundation for the
Performing Arts, a nonprofit
created earlier this
year in memory of its
namesake, who died suddenly
on March 7, 2018, at
the age of 35.
Tim and Rose Dunworth
wanted to continue promoting
the performing arts in
memory of their son, Marc,
to keep his spirit alive and
contribute to the next generation
of puppeteers, Tim
said. Marc developed a
love for puppetry at the
age of nine and went on
to be a professional puppeteer
and prop-maker for
Walt Disney Studios and
Cirque du Soleil productions
and eventually wrote
and designed puppets for
his original play, The Ugliest
Duckling.
Little Joe’s co-owner
Sue Vazquez said Tim approached
her a few months
ago to consider hosting a
holiday breakfast at her
restaurant for the foundation.
The two are longtime
friends, extending back to
the days when Vazquez’s
father owned a restaurant
in Chicago, Tim said.
The morning started
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Layla Glock sits on Santa Claus’ lap at a holiday breakfast hosted at Little Joe’s. She said she asked the man from
the North Pole for a dollhouse and Barbie for Christmas. Kyle LaHucik/22nd Century Media
with Herzog performing
a variety show with marionettes
he’s handcrafted
over the years. Herzog was
Marc’s mentor and inspiration
for majoring in fine
arts, Tim said.
The professional puppeteer
has been helpful in
getting the foundation established
and up and running,
too, Tim added. Marc
interned for Herzog before
moving to Portland, Oregon,
where he launched
his career in the performing
arts.
Marc’s fellow puppeteer
Connor Asher also came
out to the event to teach attendees
how to make their
own puppets out of paper,
popsicle sticks and velcro.
Children built a variety
of puppets — jolly hats,
candy canes, snowmen and
present peek-a-boo characters
— to take home for the
holidays.
Asher, who owns
Creventive Puppet Company,
met Marc through
the Chicagoland Puppetry
Guild. The two were good
friends, he said.
For some kids, like Layla
Glock, meeting Santa
Claus was the highlight of
the day. She asked the man
from the North Pole for a
Barbie doll and playhouse.
Throughout the event,
attendees ate a buffet
breakfast of scrambled
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eggs, hash browns, biscuits
and gravy, french toast and
ham.
The foundation provides
grants and scholarships
and puts on performances
as well as educational
events, Tim said. Marc’s
sisters, Sarah Wilson and
Megan Zwolinski also help
with the foundation.
Tim thanked Little Joe’s
and the New Lenox Chamber
of Commerce for their
support of the event. Other
sponsors included Sweet
Sarah’s and Nothing Bundt
Cakes. The event also collected
canned items for
the New Lenox Township
Food Pantry.
The Dunworth family
and foundation plan to
bring back Marc’s play,
The Ugliest Duckling, for a
Chicago premiere next fall,
Tim said. The play is about
a platypus that was raised
by a family of ducks and
overcame adversity and
challenges to find himself,
Tim added. It premiered at
the Winningstad Theatre in
Portland on April 8, 2011.
The play’s original puppets,
which represent Australian
animals, have been
found and will be used for
the Windy City production.
For more information
about the Marc Dunworth
Foundation for the Performing
Arts, visit www.
dunworthfoundation.org.