TEHRAN -- The 12th Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival kicked off in a hilarious opening ceremony at Tehran’s City Theater Complex on Saturday.

The ceremony began with concerts and several street theater performances including a wooden horse ritual performance from Bojnurd, in North Khorasan Province.
Later, secretary of the festival Rahmatollah Mehrabi gave the opening address, consisting of a short report about the festival.
“In the stage plays section, 296 works were submitted to the secretariat of the festival of which 161 were from Tehran and the rest from other cities. Also, at the street theater section, 27 works were submitted.
“This year, 25 works are competing in the stage play section, and seven foreign plays will compete with six Iranian works at the international section. Also included, are 17 street plays,” he added.
Iranian traditional puppet mobarak and several other puppets were also present at the ceremony, attracting dozens of parents with their children to it.
The ceremony ended with a fireworks display and musical performances.
The City Theater Complex, Sangalaj Hall, as well as Honar and Ferdowsi halls will play host to the plays through August 16.
Photo: A puppeteer performs a show with Mobarak, an Iranian national character, during the opening ceremony of the 12th Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival at Tehran’s City Theater Complex on August 9. (Fars/Abolfazl Salmanzadeh)