OSTRAVA, CZECHIA - MARCH 17: 73-year-old Czech carver Jaroslav Slavik shows a puppet in his atelier ahead of World Puppetry Day celebrated on March 21, in Ostrava, Czechia on March 17, 2023. He creates puppets from 25 to 50 centimeters, taking more than seven days to make one puppet. He has been carving puppets for 16 years and is the main supplier in many specialized Prague shops today. His most popular creations include Pinocchios and Kasparki, which the French nicknamed card jokers due to their likeness and high demand. Most recently he supplied a whole set of wooden puppets to a Czech puppet theatre. According to the National Information and Advisory Centre for Culture, there are now nine professional puppet theatres in the Czech Republic, a hundred independent groups and another 300 amateur groups. Puppetry in Czechia has been listed on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List since 1 December 2016. Lukas Kabon / Anadolu Agency/ABACAPRESS.COM