The Liberty Theater has announced the first show in the 2008-2009 Education Enrichment Season: Tears of Joy Theatre will present two performances of “The Reluctant Dragon” Wednesday for local schools only. The show is based on a children’s story by Kenneth Grahame, best known for “The Wind in the Willows.”

Tears of Joy, based in Vancouver, Wash., will combine several styles of puppetry including hand and rod puppets and an adaptation of “bunraku” puppets that are operated in view of the audience by puppeteers playing parts of the mother and father.

“The Reluctant Dragon” will link to school curricula in social sciences, writing, literature, speaking and listening and arts. Schools from Ocean Park, Wash., to Seaside will be attending a performance.

The Liberty Theater offers education enrichment programs to local schools at reduced admission thanks to grants from The Autzen Foundation, The Bloomfield Family Foundation and Pacific Power.

For information about Education Enrichment Programming, call Mary Ritter at (503) 791-7127.