WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of marchers with sock puppets, marionettes and full costumes, including a version of Big Bird, have joined a so-called Million Puppet March to the Capitol to show support for public broadcasting.

WTOP Radio reports the march began Saturday at Lincoln Park just east of the Capitol. The march culminated in a rally at the Capitol Reflecting Pool on the National Mall.

Michael Bellavia and others organized the rally after the first presidential debate when Mitt Romney said he would cut funding for Arlington, Va.-based PBS to cut the federal deficit.

Some participants used Romney’s remark as a rallying cry to support President Barack Obama. Others tried to keep politics out of it.

Michael Schupbach, who once worked on TV’s “Sesame Street,” says he wanted to support PBS.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)