Heading to Puppet Festival

I'm going to the Puppet (r)Evolution http://www.puppetfestivalrevolution.org/ at Swarthmore College tomorrow.  I love using puppets in my classes and productions and need much more training in puppetry.  I love the notion of being anyone and anything, unfettered by ones physicality.  Whether watching hand puppets, shadow puppets, bunraku puppets, or marionettes, audiences are fascinated with the animation of an inanimate object in the hands of a performer. 
For one workshop, ("Quirky-Pants Tactics") I have to bring an object that I have an emotional connection to.  I have chosen a fan because it always reminds me of the life-changing experience I had in Kyoto studying Noh theatre.  I also was thinking about the various ways that an object can be personified through movement, and I see personalities in different fans.
For another workshop, I am to bring a tennis ball and a bandanna, so I think I'll be making a simple puppet to use in that one.  Can't wait!