Puppetry is an important part of the cultural life of Charleville-Mézières, which is called the "World Capital of Puppetry Arts". An international puppet festival has been held there every three years since 1961 and became biennial event in 2011.[5] The town is also home to the world headquarters of UNIMA[6] as well as the International Puppetry Institute (French: Institut International de la Marionnette),[7] which is housed in a historic building featuring a giant automaton of a puppeteer who performs a puppet show every hour on the hour.