Tribute to Joan Almon

Joan Almon has been a great friend to children around the world, and especially here in College Park.  As our neighbor across the street from the Old Parish House, she has always been a warm presence nearby that will be sorely missed. 

When I first took this job in 2005, Joan was already prepared to offer amazing children’s programs.  I will always treasure the memory of the spiraling shape of evergreen branches that we laid out on the Old Parish House floor, and the slow procession of children toward the star in the apple core held at the center of the spiral by calm and peaceful Joan.  Her puppet shows were magical.  And we even attempted to build a village out of giant cardboard boxes! 

Joan appeared as part of a CPAE program in the Spring of 2019 in a performance of  The Fisherman and his Wife, in collaboration with Beech Tree Puppets, who give their own tribute below. 

~Melissa Sites, Executive Director, College Park Arts Exchange

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We dedicated our recent Beech Tree Puppets performance of Jack and the Beanstalk for the College Park Arts Exchange to Joan Almon, who for decades lived just across the street from the Old Parish House where we performed that day. Joan Almon fiercely and ingeniously defended safe spaces for children. She co-founded and worked at Acorn Hill Waldorf Kindergarten in Silver Spring, later became the president of the Alliance for the Protection of Childhood, and traveled the world with her presentations about the wonders of childhood and the necessity to protect it. She also was an enthusiastic puppeteer, for children and adults alike. One of her presentations convinced us to take our two children to Acorn Hill for two years each, before attending public school. Since then, we met Joan off and on, discussing our plans and thoughts about starting a puppet company, and about taking on various stories. She was always a good listener, and many of her words to us have strongly shaped our view of our work. We are very grateful that it was possible to collaborate with her in her adaptation of the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale, The Fisherman and His Wife, which we also performed at the Old Parish House.

~Ole and Ingrid Hass, founders of Beech Tree Puppets LLC

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We at College Park Arts Exchange offer this tribute in continued thanks to the warm spirit of Joan Almon, remembered as our “good fairy godmother.”

Photo: the Calyx Players (Joan is on the left)