LONG ISLAND CITY — The Muppets are taking the holidays.
Jim Henson's beloved puppet characters are taking center stage at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens this holiday season, with a series of Muppets film screenings and puppetry workshops planned.
This weekend, Henson fans can check out "A Dog’s Life: A Rowlf Retrospective," which will look back at the piano-playing mutt's best moments, including his appearances in commercials, movies, and television, as well as classic "The Muppet Show," stints. Screenings will take place Saturday and Sunday starting at 1 p.m.
From Dec. 21 through Jan. 1, the museum will host screenings of the beloved Jim Henson holiday classic "Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas," including rare outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage, starting at 1 p.m. daily (with the exception of Christmas and Christmas Eve).
On Dec. 8, a special screening of the film will feature to-be-announced guest speakers and serve as a tribute to two Henson colleagues who died this year: puppeteer and special effects designer Franz “Faz” Fazakas and longtime producer Diana Birkenfield.
Also this weekend and in December, kids and families can try their hands at Henson's craft in a series of hour-long puppetry workshops. For a $10 materials fee, participants will create their own unique characters and perform with them in a puppet show.
The events are part of the Museum of the Moving Image's new series, "Jim Henson's World," which will feature different Henson-themed screenings and activities at the museum each month, leading up to the opening of a permanent Henson exhibit and gallery in 2015.
That collection, announced this spring, will feature hundreds of puppets, along with costumes, sketches, storyboards, scripts and other props from the famous puppeteer's career, donated to the city by Henson's family.
