We love trees and allegories here in the land of tall redwoods and idealists. We're dreamers, poets, environmental stewards and veterans. And we are fortunate that a sweet tale that speaks to all these identities makes its way to the Arcata Playhouse for our enjoyment and enrichment.

The Arcata Playhouse Family Fun Series opens its 13th season this Saturday with Scotland's Puppet State Theater's multi-award-winning adaptation of Jean Giono's The Man Who Planted Trees. It's a puppet theater production that has been performed from the Sydney Opera House to Lincoln Center in New York and now graces the North Coast with its uplifting, humorous and profound story of renewal and redemption, of forests and men. Through comedy and puppetry, The Man Who Planted Trees tells the tale of a French shepherd who sees a need and, instead of ignoring it, single-handedly (with his dog), over the course of decades, plants a forest, tree by tree, acorn by acorn, transforming a barren wasteland into a beautiful, thriving landscape.

Appealing to all ages, audiences will "hear the wind, feel the rain, smell the lavender and laugh with Dog in this multi-sensory theatrical delight." The first in the Arcata Playhouse Family Series (Maine physical performer and magician, Leland Faulkner, in his show World of Wonder, comes to the Playhouse in April), The Man Who Planted Trees plays Saturday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. ($15, $10 kids 12 and under). Tickets are available at Wildberries Marketplace, online at www.arcataplayhouse.org or may be reserved by calling 822-1575.