Tony Sarg Community Day on Nantucket

The Nantucket Historical Association hosted Sarg Community Day on Monday, August 5, 2024 at Children’s Beach on Nantucket. Bringing a recreation of Tony Sarg’s 75-foot sea monster balloon to the island for all to see, enjoy, and take photos with. Sarg Community Day offered family-friendly activities, including a Nanpuppets performance, a kazoo parade with Nantucket Community Music Center and crafts exploring the art of puppetry.
Tony Sarg (1880-1942) is known as the father of modern puppetry in North America and the originator of the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloons. Sarg was an accomplished illustrator, animator, designer, and nimble entrepreneur who summered on, and took inspiration from, Nantucket for nearly twenty years. In the summer of 1937, Sarg orchestrated a media hoax on Nantucket with his sea monster balloon. He planned various spottings around the island, including footprints on the beach and sightings of a creature in the water. A few days later, Sarg displayed his massive sea monster balloon, which he named “Morton,” on Francis Street Beach for locals and tourists to be wowed by, and it soon became known as the “event of the summer.” To recreate this moment in history, the NHA worked with Bill Smith of Smith Special Productions and Balloonworks to create a modern day, “Morton.”
This special event is part of the Nantucket Historical Association's Summer of Sarg and complements the Tony Sarg: Genius at Play exhibition at the Nantucket Whaling Museum. Learn more about the exhibition open through 2024 at nha.org/whats-....
Learn more about Tony Sarg on the NHA's KZbin channel - • Tony Sarg