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Chicago Intl Puppet Festival

@chipuppetfest

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Next Up: Fall Puppetry Workshops including the new Puppetry Accelerator!

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Get ready for Festival 2027! Mark your calendars for the 9th Edition: January 20-31, 2027, and tell a friend! The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival is the largest of its kind in North America welcoming 25,000+ audience members each January to enjoy 100+ events in just 12 days right in the heart of Chicago’s winter. The Festival takes place at dozens of venues across the city. It’s one of Chicago’s favorite staycations, was voted Chicago’s #1 Festival in 2025 and is a magnet for international visitors. It’s a great way to see a huge range of fascinating shows – from tiny stages to huge theaters – for adults and whole families – shadow puppetry to bunraku-style – a Festival guaranteed to Astonish & Delight you! taken in Chicago, Illinois by @chipuppetfest

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8 days ago

The Catapult has sold out for the past several years, so we encourage you to act fast to reserve your spot! 🔗 IN BIO

The Catapult returns, now with three professional development intensives! Each of these 3-day experiences is designed to advance the form and expand understanding of the field of puppetry in the United States.

During the weekend intensives, artists of all disciplines are taken on a three-day, curated, guided experience of Festival programming. Join an intimate cohort, escorted by a professional leader, for discussions, backstage access, transportation to shows, and more.

New for 2027! The Festival introduces the Mid-Week Workshop Intensive, offering three full days of workshops with Festival Artists. In the evenings, your cohort will attend Festival programming together.

Registration is now open! taken in Chicago, Illinois by @chipuppetfest

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a month ago

Introducing 🌍 PEOPLE IN PUPPETRY: A GLOBAL GALLERY !!!

This is a living, growing gallery of puppeteers, designers/builders, curators, teaching artists, directors, filmmakers, and others in the world of puppet theater. We want to include as many people in puppetry as possible.

→ Add yourself today. Share the link with the puppet people you know.

✨ PeopleInPuppetry.com
🔗 IN BIO

📝 Then take our short, anonymous Survey of Puppeteers and help shape the future of the Festival. You could win a 2026 Festival Artist Button — free entry to any show with available seating at the 2026 Festival!! 🎟️🔥

You don’t need to be in the gallery to take the survey — but we hope you’ll do both!

📸: Courtesy of the Artists. See the “People In Puppetry” gallery for details.

#PeopleInPuppetry #GlobalGallery #PuppetryCommunity #PuppeteersUnite #PuppetryFestival @peopleinpuppetry by @chipuppetfest

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a year ago

We’re about to go to print on the 2027 Festival Brochure, and we don’t want you to miss it. Click the 🔗 in bio to confirm your mailing address so we can be sure it gets to you. We can’t wait to share what’s ahead in 2027! taken in Chicago, Illinois by @chipuppetfest

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a day ago

Tarish “Jeghetto” Pipkins and Taylor Bibat (the Festival’s Director of Education) talk about Tarish’s Cardboard Sculpting Workshop this Fall, 1 degree weather, and learning from his son Tarin.

We also talk about the Online Puppetry Accelerator, Catapult’s 2027 Mid-week Workshop Intensives, and applying to the Chicago Puppet Lab’s 6th Cohort! by @chipuppetfest

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6 days ago

Check out this fun conversation with Taylor Bibat (the Fest’s Director of Education) and Grace Needlman, instructor of Building Reed Lantern Puppets IN PERSON at the @fineartsbuilding on December 12th! The 1pm workshop filled up quickly, so we’ve added a session at 9am and there are currently seats available! Register at ChicagoPuppetFest.org before that sells out too!

We also talk about the Chicago Puppet Lab, co-directed by Grace, Tom Lee (@tlee668 ) and @vanessavalliere for which applications are now OPEN!! Former Lab Artist August makes a special appearance (@augsb_musicetc )!

Other announcements include:
—We are officially an approved professional development provider with the Illinois State Board of Education (@isbenews ).
—Festival 2027’s Catapult Program is open for registrations now. In addition to our weekend sessions, this year features a new Workshop Intensive Mid-Week
Session with 18 hours of workshops with Festival Artists. There are ONLY 13 spots total for this program.

So much afoot! Join us! by @chipuppetfest

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6 days ago

The application for the 2027 Chicago Puppet Lab is NOW OPEN! Apply by Oct 22

This in-person laboratory selects 8 artists or artist groups for an 8-month residency, led by Puppet Lab Co-Directors: Tom Lee, Grace Needlman, and Vanessa Valliere. Artists meet weekly to share, discuss, learn from one another, and engage with expert guest artists—all while contributing to the advancement of their puppetry projects.

The Lab culminates in a mini-festival of live works-in-progress in Chicago, with support from the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival:
💰 A $1000 project stipend
🎥 Photo & video documentation
🎭 Technical & stage management
📣 Marketing and visibility

Apply by October 22, 2026
🔗 Link in bio taken in Chicago, Illinois by @chipuppetfest

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6 days ago

We are going LIVE tomorrow with Director of Edu @patchplaytay and some of our incredible workshops faculty!

Join us here on Instagram tomorrow 10/1 at 12:30 PM and 7:30 PM Central and learn more about the Fall Workshop Series:
-Hand Puppetry 1 with Chad Williams (already begun)
-Cardboard Sculpting with Tarish “Jeghetto” Pipkins
-Shadow Puppetry 1 with Chinese Theatre Works
-Shadow Puppetry 2: Mechanics with Linda Wingerter
-Puppetry Accelerator (Level 3) with Roberto Rossi (full)
-Worbla Techniques for the Puppet Maker with Chicago Puppet Studio
-Toy Theater 1 with Roberto Rossi
-Making Reed Lantern Puppets with Grace Needlman

@graceneedlman @tarish_is_art @jeghettos_puppets by @chipuppetfest

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7 days ago

Fall Workshop Preview, part 1!

Hear from our instructors, Chad Williams, Stephen Kaplin, and Zach Sun & Averly Sheltraw, as they pitch 3 of our 9 Fall workshops!

Hand Puppetry
Shadow Puppetry
Worbla Technique

Most of our workshops are live online so you can take them from wherever you are in the world. They’re like having the instructor sitting across from you at your table in your own home, but, as Stephen says, “better because you don’t have to feed me.” 😂

In this video, Taylor also talks about some exciting programs— our new Online Puppetry Accelerator and new Catapult Mid-Week Workshop Intensive during the Festival.

Puppet at the beginning of the live was made by Joe Mazza!(@brave.lux ) by @chipuppetfest

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13 days ago

We are going LIVE tomorrow with Director of Edu @patchplaytay and some of our incredible workshops faculty!

Join us here on Instagram tomorrow 9/24 at 2:30 PM CT and learn more about the Fall Workshop Series:
-Hand Puppetry 1 with Chad Williams (already begun)
-Cardboard Sculpting with Tarish “Jeghetto” Pipkins
-Shadow Puppetry 1 with Chinese Theatre Works
-Shadow Puppetry 2: Mechanics with Linda Wingerter
-Puppetry Accelerator (Level 3) with Roberto Rossi (full)
-Worbla Techniques for the Puppet Maker with Chicago Puppet Studio
-Toy Theater 1 with Roberto Rossi
-Making Reed Lantern Puppets with Grace Needlman

@Chinesetheatreworks, @averlysheltraw, @wondersparkpuppets by @chipuppetfest

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14 days ago

2026 Puppet Lab was visually pleasing, aurally engaging, cross-disciplinary, thematically diverse and highly personalized to tell the stories of each puppeteer. Honestly, it just gets stronger every year. Bravo to all involved! @chipuppetfest

#chicagopuppets #chicagoarts by @chipuppetfest

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a month ago

Fall Puppetry Workshops are yours for the taking! ✨ And new this fall: The Puppetry Accelerator!

🎭 Fall Workshops: Join us online from anywhere in the world or in person at the Fine Arts Building. Choose from one-session intensives or multi-week workshops designed to build your puppetry skills and spark creativity. Scholarships are available!

🚀 NEW: The Puppetry Accelerator: Bring your work-in-progress to a 5-week online cohort and receive personalized guidance from a seasoned puppetry professional on dramaturgy, staging, and performance—all leading to an online showing for a special invited audience. Limited to just 6 participants. Application required.

Registration and applications are now open! 🔗 IN BIO by @chipuppetfest

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a month ago