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Puppet Bike
Rating Details »
- Nearest Transit:
-
Washington/Wells (Orange, Brown, Purple Express, Pink)
Clinton (Pink, Green)
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
54 reviews for Puppet Bike
Long live the Puppet Bike indeed! My friend and I had the pleasure of coming upon the Puppet Bike near Millennium Park last week and were utterly charmed.
In this world of twitter and twaddle it is a treasure to find such a silly and heart warming bit of fun on the street corner. And all on a bike! FANTASTIC!
I first saw Puppet Bike a couple of years ago on Michigan Ave. at Randolph St., and I was immediately thrilled and overjoyed. What a wonderful idea to have a roving puppet-and-musical show to entertain people of all ages. The puppets are ADORable, and they do their dances and other movements gracefully. I love when a puppet pops out of the little window in the lower part of the structure. The entire show is so charming!
Puppet Bike resonates with me not only because it's so darn cute but because my brother and sister and I used to put on puppet shows when we were kids. It's one of my most favorite childhood memories. Now whenever I see Puppet Bike, I enjoy not only the special performances, but I get a nice nostalgic flashback to fun times I had when I was little.
Long Live Puppet Bike!
If I could hug every one of those darling, sweet puppets, I would.
Thank you, Puppet Bike, for bringing pure joy to so many people.
I am honestly crying now.
Puppet Bike, how I adore thee. I was walking though Andersonville on a glorious Indian Summer Saturday and there you were. Thanks for bringing the joy and sticking "Jambalaya" in my head for days.
I am so in love with these puppets, whenever I see them, I'm utterly transfixed. I just want to climb into their box and hug them. When it's finally time to move on (which is usually after I've handed over every dollar bill I have and am on the brink of handing the furry little guys my wallet), I wish there was some way to take them home with me, bike and all. Not a perfect plan; I realize I'd probably have to feed the dude who peddles them around, but hey, it's a relatively small price to pay.
They're truly the magical part of our walks along Clark Street in Andersonville. How lovely to read that there are so many others who are enchanted by them, too.
It's a sure sign of spring when Puppet Bike emerges from its hidden winter hibernation. Speculation remains as to where it permanently resides. Conspiracy theories, anyone? I've spotted it parked outside of an Andersonville neighborhood tavern once or twice. Just saying.
Puppet Bike is a creepy reminder of the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Yet, I find myself mildly entranced and entertained.
Isn't that the point?
I love the puppet bike. I love that so many people love the puppet bike.
I've seen Puppet Bike twice now, and it's always a treat. Thank you for doing what it is you do, Puppet Bike!
Was it a mirage, was it a dream? What's the Puppet Bike doing downtown? I saw the Puppet Bike on Randolph and Clark during the morning rush hour. I had only seen pictures of this magical bike, but never before laid eyes on it. I enjoyed watching the Puppet Bike play its tunes and animals run around for a story. Puppet Bike made an otherwise ordinary, boring Thursday morning a bright, happy, and cheerful one. Thanks Puppet Bike for making the morning commuters smile a little!
Oh my god.... Either I'm a child or the smallest things amuse the hell out of me. I could sit all day watching these crazy puppets and I probably would, if I wasn't dragged away (kicking and screaming I might add... well she had my ear and I didn't like it) These little puppets sing, dance, and even fight. They tell all kinds of stories without speaking a single word.
Puppets normally freak me out but these have such a innocence about them (plus I know I can out run that bike!!). Though it does scare me sometimes because he just sits there and I'm not sure if anyone is home and I'm sure as hell ain't going to check.
It seems that Mr. Puppet Bike has been spending a lot of time in Andersonville lately, which is great!! So if you see him give the Cat a dollar or two, it's just fun entertainment!!
Kind of like UFO and Loch ness monster sightings....I had heard about Puppet Bike, but never seen it.
It was interesting that my roommate just recently caught a glimpse of this interesting part of Chicago.
Being unemployed has its benefits...for one, while sitting around a Starbucks job searching around 11am I saw the Puppet Bike!!! It stopped and casually drew in little boys and girls walking with their parents. I'll admit it...I was also drawn in and packed up my stuff and walked across Clark Street to partake of a puppet show..........now folks, when was the last time you watched a puppet show. As for me, I think I was 5...or was it 6? I forget....anyway......the show was great...a little kitten (Namy) and rabbit (Clover) [got the names from the website....yes, Puppet Bike actually has its own website] dancing all around the stage and popping in and out of little hidden doors throughout the structure.
Its a must see.....if you get the chance......good luck to you and god's speed to the Puppet Bike!
Let me just say that if you don't love Puppet Bike, you are dead inside. Just find a nice little hole in the ground and crawl in, because you're done.
I hate most of what passes for children's entertainment, and I love Puppet Bike. Probably because what they do is not aimed at kids, but at people. And because frankly, the puppets always seem to be having such a good time! They sing and dance and play out their scenes, and both kids and grownups are entranced.
I first stumbled across PB at a festival in Andersonville, and for several weeks they were anchored outside Tapas las Ramblas. Which ws great for that business! Now they are off on more adventures, but just knowing that some day I will come across them again fills my heart with glee.
The most bizarre/curious thing I've seen in the city so far.
It's like a weird dream, but in real life.. or when you ask your dog a question and he/she doesn't know what your saying, so they tilt their head and lift their eyebrows. Okay, maybe that didn't make sense, but that's how I feel when I run into Puppet Bike on the street.
I can't help but stop and watch for a few minutes out of pure bewilderment:)
Thanks Puppet Bike for taking my mind off real life for a few minutes every now and then!
BTW, I'm dying to know who is inside the box!
I could have watched puppet bike for hours. I was mesmerised like a small child. It made me so happy. Long live puppet bike.
THE PUPPET BIKE IS THE STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF!
I am so happy that for the past few months the charming Puppet Bike has been spending a great deal of time in my neighborhood. At seemingly random times, the jolly, red bicycle contraption appears just as you turn a corner.
An enchanted menagerie of happy puppet performers frolic and dance to some fabulously catchy, kooky old tunes. They cavort together, graciously picking up the dollar bill donations that their spellbound audiences give to them. There are secret doors and disco balls! You never know what animal will appear next. It's magnificent! It's magical! It makes you wish it would pop out from behind the corner whenever you need a lift!
And such a lift it gives!
Watching the audience around you is almost as wonderful as watching the performers. It warms my grinchy ol' heart and I have been known to stand transfixed for half an hour or more. Cranky, hurried people are immediately transformed into purring pussycats and cuddly teddy bears -- such is the spell the Puppet Bike casts.
Whomever the "man (or woman) behind the curtain" may be, I must express my thanks and gratitiude for your marvelous creation and whimsical artistry. A glimpse of the Puppet Bike can turn the foulest of days into the happiest of times. It's an immediate reminder that there is indeed good and wonderment in the world!
Please support the Puupet Bike! It's a priceless jewel in a world of stones (and those are a lot of animals to feed!). Puppet Bike, you can have my $2 bills anytime! Thanks for always putting a smile on my face!
I didn't realize that Puppet Bike left the Wicker Park 'hood, so imagine my surprise when I passed him tonight up in Andersonville on my way to dinner with a friend.
The PB and I have a torrid history...the last time we met, I tried to make out with the puppets - probably because I'd had one too many cocktails in the rape cave at Debonair. Alas, he did not judge as I walked past - and for that I am appreciative.
The puppet bike is the best bicycle to follow when participating in the New Belgium Brewery Tour de Fat.
Pure joy!
In a city of lazy people sitting on the street shaking their cups in your face, emerges a creative and talented soul who delights and amazes us with his talent and originality.
This guy probably make 60Gs a year...cash. I don't care, more power to him. If this isn't the true meaning of "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" I don't know what is!
I'm lucky to have experienced it a couple times!
Puppet Bike is everywhere!
Probably because Puppet Bike is awesome.
Go Puppet Bike Go!
Puppet Bike is the cutest damn thing ever! I want to kidnap Puppet Bike and put it in my living room...but I suspect that man behind the curtain would kick my ass.
You never know where Puppet Bike might appear, I see it downtown most often, but once I found it in Andersonville and once I saw puppet bike in motion!...I love kitty the most...unless you are dead inside you can't help but enjoy Puppet Bike.
Puppet Bike is my one true love. The little alligator makes my heart go pitter pat. He made me want to burst into tears at my inability to comprehend the cuteness of it all. I love when the kitty sneaks into the money box to take the dollars. Steal me some money, little kitty.
I love puppets, and I love bikes, so this thing is an amazing hybrid of two already awesome things. My heart is bursting with emotion while trying to write this review, and as I am generally full of apathy, this is difficult. I have the same kitty puppet at home and after I saw Puppet Bike recently, I broke him out and started making him do little dances.
Dear Puppet Bike,
Please come over for my birthday party.
XOXO
Rachel H
Easily my favorite thing in the city of Chicago, which is indeed a grand old city. I love Puppetbike. It is everything that is right and good in this world and can make you feel what it's like to be a child again and want to dance and sing in the street.
I love Puppetbike.
Puppet Bike makes me so ridiculously happy, I cry on the street when kitten and puppy bow and high-five.
Whoever you are, I love you forever for the beautiful thing that you do.
Puppet Bike participated in the Art on Track exhibition this weekend, in what was my absolute favorite car on the train. There was a living unicorn, a ringmaster, a hide-and-seek game.
It was the most spectacular time between stops that I've ever had in my life.
The sight of the Puppet Bike always brings tears to my eyes. It reminds me of the childhood I am yet to have. Oh yeah, my name is Benjamin Button.
Puppet Bike Spreads Joy.
Has anyone ever happened upon Puppet Bike, and had their day made worse? No way. Puppet Bike is the Happiness Maker.
I am totally and utterly in love with Puppet Bike. Everytime I see it, I smile and get all giddy. The kitties are my favorite. And I love the disco ball and lights after dark. If you give them a dollar, they'll dance with it.
Puppet Bike hung out a lot in Andersonville, just down my street at Balmoral and Clark, over the summer. I hope he comes back soon.
I love you Puppet Bike!
loved it super cool super cute!!! check it out asap! This is one of those Chicago things you just have to be a part of, and it shows summer is here YEAH!!!!
HOORAY, puppet bike!!
I love you and so do all the little children!!!
I really really really love the puppetbike. I think i love the pupetbike more than i love anyone or anything. I would never give him less than five stars.
HOWEVER
The best thing about the puppetbike is how serendipitous it is to find him. You're walking around, minding your own business, and--SHAPOW! There he is and your day just went from a 3 to a 15. But lately... lately I've seen him on the same corner every time i'm in Andersonville. The magic is fading. I also saw the puppeteer crawling out of the box on Saturday night--and i will not provide any details, but (s)he was not at all the person i dreamed (s)he would be.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/10/2008
Ode to the Puppetbike
(To the tune of 'O Christmas Tree')
O Puppetbike, O Puppet bike!
How lovely do… Read more »
In terms of Loop entertainment, Puppet Bike is way better than:
- Bucket boys
- Metallic robot dudes
- Jazz flautist
- Watching people on Segway tours
- "Street Preacher" at State/Washington
- That awful woman who couldn't sing to save her life but set up an amp and a mic outside my office building anyway, hawking her CDs, forcing me to write a "cease and desist" note and putting it in her tip jar.
YAY PUPPET BIKE!
Also, check out the Puppet Bike website - it's awesome.
Our city is a circus!!!
HaHaHa... I couldn't believe it, I never saw anything like this before!!!
This is one of the craziest funniest things I have seen. You can not help but stop and watch! No wonder the crowd about the puppet bike!!!
Kudos to the person who made a puppet stage on a bike, complete with music... hahaha this was so funny! I am not sure if just the appearance of the puppet bike was funnier than the puppets themselves!!!
There's a reason why Puppet Bike has almost unanimous five-star reviews. Puppet Bike IS the best thing about Chicago. Kanye West wishes he could approach the level of triumph that PB relishes in daily. If you're not down with Puppet Bike, we cannot be friends. I cannot speak to you.
I usually find Puppet Bike during my lunch break and have a little dinner theater at various times throughout the week.
Look, when it comes to entertainment in Chicago, if it ain't Puppet Bike, it ain't worth a shit. That's what's up.
Anytime you run across puppet bike it brightens your day in leaps and bounds. Knowing that someone is inside actually making these little guys dance like an artform long lost just makes your heart go pitter patter. Find them all over the city. but lately they have been parked in andersonville! YAY
Si, de puppet bike is practically perfect in every way.
Where else can you find that somewhat creepy
fantastical Mr. McFeely feeling we had when, SNiff,
Mr. Rogers used to puppet play every day?
It's kind of magical and totally disarming.
Much Love to the puppet bike.
I was relieved (but not surprised) to see all the positive reviews for my beloved Puppet Bike here. I embarrass my husband by clapping for joy (and then I empty my pockets) every time we encounter the magical bike. But I don't care -- these puppets rock my world!
The first time I set eyes on Puppet Bike I was very sad about the state of my existence -- working in a tall building in the loop. I went outside to escape the HVAC and clear my head. I saw Puppet Bike in Daley Plaza and the spectacle brought the biggest smile to my face. Suddenly, I was happy to be alive, happy to be in Chicago, and just ... well so very happy!
I've seen Puppet Bike several times since and each time I'm amazed at how something so simple can bring such joy into my existence. Thank you Puppet Bike!
PuppetBike is really one of the most amazing things I've ever happened upon in the loop. Comparably entertaining as that guy with the karaoke machine yelling about how no one is going to heaven outside Old Navy. PuppetBike always reminds me of the scene from the Little Mermaid where Prince Eric takes Ariel to town and they see a puppet show of a guy beating a woman with a bat. Puppetbike is basically two cats doing that same show. The only draw back is the crowd that gathers making it hard for me to hurry along my very busy and important way, but when I have time to stop and watch, I love it.
Ah the puppet bike, the simple joys in life. I have embarrassed many of friends by watching nearly the whole show in amazement EVERY TIME. Well it's not my fault, it seems like they get new puppets all the time, so every time it's different. How about you try passing up the puppet bike, you can't.
puppet bike is one of those things so wonderful and unexpected, you can't help but walk away feeling like a giddy little kid. i feel like i need to constantly have a stack of singles on me just in case i ever see it again, so i can see the kitty and squirrel fight over each bill.
"you going to a strip club?"
"no, thanks, i'm waiting for puppet bike"
