The mighty Black Sheep Puppet Festival, which credits itself as the longest-running annual puppet festival in the United States, returns Friday through Sunday at The Brew House, South Side. Besides adult and family-friendly puppet shows, there will be lectures and an exhibition. Many activities are free.

This year's title is "Local No. 9," because it's the ninth edition and because the emphasis will be on local puppetry artists of various backgrounds. Festival curator and artist Tom Sarver says one reason for the switch from including international acts is to unify the local puppetry scene in preparation for the 10th annual event next year.

Here's the haps:

Friday -- 7 p.m.-midnight, main event show, recommended for adults, eight performances: "Dinner's Ready" by The Indicator Species (the group's second performance on the topic of food centers on a family eating dinner while food in the refrigerator talks and paintings tell stories), "UBU ROI" by Thommy Conroy (inspired by Alfred Jarry's controversial 1986 absurdist play, the cast includes a drag queen, a "filthy duo" and a marimba master playing the glockenspiel), "The Monkey's Heart" by Major Arcana (the story of a monkey and a mermaid based on an Indian folktale), "A Show In Strings" by Tinny City (told by shadow puppets and including a ball of string, stringed instruments and vocal chords), "A New Greek Myth" by Skin and Bone Theater (life-sized puppets resembling the figures on Greek pottery perform a new myth about xenophobia and terrorist paranoia), "Words for a Better World" by Joann Kielar (shadow puppets create a story between performance breaks that grows with each telling), "On TV" by Body Invisible (a "televisual experience" created on stage), "Pickleville" by Buddy Nutt (a tragicomic opera that takes place in a typical Middle American town except that everyone looks like a pickle). ($15)

Saturday -- noon-6 p.m., gallery exhibition of original handmade puppets by local puppeteer Diana Vencius, a puppet-inspired installation by Pittsburgh artist Chris Lisowski and an assortment of puppets from the collection of Pittsburgh puppetry historian Gregory Knipling. (Free)

Saturday -- 1-2 p.m., puppetry lecture. Pittsburgh puppeteer and puppetry historian Gregory Knipling lectures on the history of puppetry, including demonstrations from his extensive personal collection. (Free)

Saturday -- 2-3:30 p.m., matinee show, for all ages, four performances: "The Monkey's Heart" by Major Arcana, "Secnarf Pool" by Udienetta (a 30-foot girl encounters a sinister wish hoarder), "A Show In Strings" by Tinny City, "Words for a Better World" by Joann Kielar. (Free)

Saturday -- 7 p.m.-midnight, main event show, recommended for adults, eight performances (repeat of Friday show; $15)

Sunday -- 1-2 p.m., puppetry lecture. Knipling lectures on the history of puppetry. (Free)

Sunday -- 2-3:30 p.m., matinee show, for all ages, five performances: "Secnarf Pool" by Udienetta, "A Show In Strings" by Tinny City, "Stone Soup, Island Style" by Brian Jones' Ambitious Fun (the French children's tale set on a strange Caribbean island where the chieftain refuses to share food with two shipwrecked fishermen), "Words for a Better World" by Joann Kielar, "A Pittsburgh Tall Tale" by Kentucky Avenue School (K-9 grade students mix their studies of tall tales and Pittsburgh history in a puppet play of their own making). (Free)

The Brew House is at 2100 Mary St., South Side. For information visit www.blacksheeppuppet.com or call 412-381-7767.