CAMERON, Mo. — Matthew Burnett’s flair for everything arts could soon make room for the whimsy of puppets.

Mr. Burnett, of rural Cameron, has been selected to receive a scholarship that will send him to the seventh annual PuppetFest Midwest this week in Trenton. Several other PuppetFest scholarships were given to participants from Minnesota to California. Puppet enthusiasts from across the nation compete for scholarships to attend the independent festival.

For 20-year-old Mr. Burnett, the honor is an opportunity to broaden a skill range that could lead to a filmmaking career or related endeavors.

“I thought it was pretty interesting,” the North Central Missouri College sophomore said after reading an article in Rural Missouri magazine. “I’ve never really done anything like this before ... I thought that would be good for me.”

His past experience involved helping with a Christian puppet ministry during the time he was home schooled in Cameron.

“Right now, I’m at a point where I’m exploring different things,” Mr. Burnett said. “I’ve always been interested in building things and making things.”

He has almost seven years’ experience as a blacksmith and has taken several art courses.

Applying for the festival included Internet research and obtaining several references. PuppetFest will involve specific workshops, and participants will construct a finished puppet over the course of a week. Some of the best puppeteers in North America will teach 20 classroom hours of the craft.

Festival organizers attempt to recruit those who are purely interested in continuing the craft of puppetry and live theater in some manner. Puppet trading and evening performances, open to the public, constitute other parts of the weeklong program.

Puppetry could turn into a career for Mr. Burnett.

“I find it very intriguing,” he said. “I’d certainly like to learn as much as I can. I’m excited about it.”

The Rumpelstiltskin Society, a not-for-profit corporation, sponsors the event. The festival begins Tuesday on the North Central campus and the adjacent Grundy County Jewett Norris Library and concludes Sunday.

A puppet exhibit will be on display at the Dorris Rider Art Gallery on the college’s campus. The exhibit will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Public performances by various puppet companies will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday in the Hoover Theater on the library’s third floor.

Call (660) 684-6825 for box office information. The festival’s Web site is www.puppetfestival.org.

Ray Scherer can be reached

at rscherer@npgco.com.