{
  "id": 5138617,
  "title": "Giant Puppet Parade in Siem Reap, Cambodia",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/giant-puppet-parade-in-siem-reap-cambodia",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-02T17:26:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Atlas Obscura",
    "slug": "atlas-obscura",
    "url": "https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/giant-puppet-parade"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Siem Reap, Cambodia, a unique Giant Puppet Parade takes place each spring in the country's main tourism hub. This event, initiated in 2007, stemmed from an art therapy program that served children in vulnerable situations. The children create puppets and participate in parading them through the streets, gaining skills that could lead to future employment as artisans, cultural knowledge, and a much-needed distraction from their daily routines.\n\nThe only years the parade was missed were in 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year since its return, an estimated 400-500 children take part in the parade. Interestingly, this initiative shares a similar model with Phare Circus, dividing activities between Siem Reap and Battambang, where puppets are often designed before being constructed in both cities. Throughout the year, these workshops are available for visitors to witness the puppets being brought to life.",
  "summary": "Being a child in Cambodia is likely to be rough. By many counts, the country is one of the poorest in Asia, leading to high rates of child abandonment and even orphaning. It is also one of the most heavily-landmined countries, a legacy of 20th-century conflicts like the Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge regime, which means that many children will often have had an amputation or explosion-related…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}