Vent Haven Museum is always changing. Each year figures, photographs, and other vent collectibles are rotated on and off exhibit. In addition to these regular rotations, visitors to Vent Haven Museum during the 2024 season will get to experience three temporary, special exhibits.
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show that has its origins in Italy during the Renaissance and which gained its greatest popularity in England, especially in seaside puppet theaters. During the show, Mr. Punch, a comic character usually with a long nose and dressed like a court jester, has a series of conflicts with multiple people. He typically responds to the conflict violently by comically slapping his foes with a stick (hence the term "slapstick").
While Punch and Judy is NOT ventriloquism, some vents also performed Punch and Judy acts, and many vent figure makers made Punch and Judy sets. Vent Haven Museum has a large collection of these sets, as well as books, photos, and playbills featuring Punch and Judy. For the 2024 season, the museum will display some of these items in our special exhibits gallery.
New for 2024 Figures
Each year, Vent Haven Museum's collection grows as figures from all over the world are donated to the museum. Every dummy donated to the museum in a twelve month period is displayed in a special exhibit for that season. This year's "New for 2024" exhibit is by far the largest ever, with more than 60 dummies joining the Vent Haven collection. They'll be displayed together for this season in the "Bleacher Room" (Gallery 3).
A Tribute to Mark Wade
Finally, the museum is also proud to present a tribute to Mark Wade, a long time member of the ventriloquism community who has served on the museum's Board of Advisors for nearly five decades and who served as Executive Director of the Vent Haven ConVENTion from 1999 to 2023. The exhibit features puppets Mark has donated to Vent Haven Museum as well as photos of Mark and friends through the years. This special exhibit can be found at the end of the tour in the Venezio Family Gallery.
Don't miss your chance to see these special exhibits. Get your tickets today.