Baby dinosaurs will be at the Bullimbal School Fair in Tamworth

The two hand puppets, made from a variety of materials including foam and resin, recently arrived from Queensland just in time for the fundraiser fair in Bicentennial Park on Saturday, October 7.

But their forever home will be here in Tamworth, travelling in the Phillips' family Jurassic Jeep, attending birthdays, weddings, parties and other celebratory events.

Byron Phillips, known locally as Jurassic Jack, and his son Thomas had specialised training for the puppetry, which consists of pulling levers and counter-levers to work the blinking eyes, mouth and movement of their heads.

"We'll walk around with the babies near the jeep," Mr Phillips said. "And they [children] can come and say hello and give them a tickle and have a talk to them.

"They'll just have to be careful and gentle with the dinosaurs, because they're only babies and they do get a little bit scared sometimes."

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Penny and Bonnie are baby Brachiosauruses, a long-necked usually gentle vegetarian dinosaur, that once roamed North America about 154 to 153 million years ago.

But Thomas said his favourite is Razor their baby raptor puppet - based on the meat-eating predator that traipsed the earth about 75 million to 71 million years ago.

"They're really cool because they can run really fast and they have cool colours - grey and some have orange," Thomas said of Razor who might make an appearance at the fair.

Mr Phillips said he is expected to have some fearsome T-Rex puppets that are bigger than humans arriving from Queensland in 2024.

"We can actually walk them around on the leash. And they make noises and can be a little bit naughty. So we've got to make sure there's lots of space when we take them for a walk," Mr Phillips said.

Entry to the fair is by gold coin donation and there will be a bouncy castle and other rides, showbags and activities for children, with live music and performances from local talent at the event that starts at 10am and goes until about 4pm.

About midday there will be a dress-up competition for children. All funds raised will go to the 'special needs' Bullimbal school in south Tamworth.

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