Calgary

PUPPET POWER 2025

October 18-19, 2025
In-person held at Calgary's Centre for Newcomers

INSPIRE, INFORM, GALVANIZE

Puppet Power 2025 (PP25) will delve into the complex subject of immigration, offering a creative and innovative perspective through the lens of puppetry.

WP Puppet Theatre is excited to share the amazing work being done by puppeteers from around the world, showcasing empathetic approaches, impactful interventions and inspiration as well as the challenges, failures and recoveries. Their three key goals are:

• To raise awareness of the many interconnected forces that shape global and local immigration
• To provide a platform for newcomers and those working in immigrant-serving organizations to share their personal stories
• To offer practical and inspiring methodologies for impactful interventions using applied puppetry practices.

The two-day hybrid event will feature: 

• Four live-streamed watch parties + quick puppet making activities
• A vibrant community-building evening event + dinner + professional puppet performance
• A puppet-infused Rapid Ideation session for Calgary social agencies working with immigrants
• In-person master puppet making workshops
• Post conference recordings and resources
• Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch.

PP25, the 13th iteration of WP Puppet Theatre’s signature festival, is designed as a call to action and professional development for adults, students, teachers, social workers and ‘helping professionals’ who are seeking mentoring and training in using puppetry in applied settings. 

With Calgary hospitality the friendly event also supports mental health and wellness through creativity, self-realization and connection.

For more information and to register for this event, please visit their website.

Off the Beaten Path: A Fantasy Musical Where You Choose the Ending!

Off the Beaten Path is a hilarious, heart-pounding, interactive fantasy musical where you decide what happens next. Will the rogue betray the party? Can the orcs dance their way to redemption? Is that sword fight going to end in glory or disaster?

Set in the magical world of Arlyrus, this thrilling adventure is like live-action D&D meets Broadway—no two shows are the same. Heroes rise. Secrets unravel. And you decide the path they take.

Expect dancing orcs, epic sword fights, and tunes that will live rent-free in your head for days. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll probably want to come back again—just to make sure your favourite hero doesn’t meet their fate this time...

🎟️ Learn More & Tickets: obpmusical.com
📅 Shows: July 4, 5, 6 at 7 pm| Matinee July 5 at 1:30pm
📍 Beddington Theatre Arts Centre | 375 Bermuda Dr NW, Calgary, AB T3K 2J5
 

The Common Ground Festival returns and its groovier than ever!! We are looking for submissions to celebrate Calgary's most talented artists and the joy of bringing new works of all shapes and sizes to the stage! If you've got a thing we've got a stage

The Common Ground Festival is a place for emerging and small professional artists to present and develop the work that they are passionate about. Since our inception in 2014, we have been honoured to show Calgary the work of over 300 early career artists. In 2018 we partnered with the Pumphouse Theatres, a longtime supporter of emerging and small professional artists in Calgary, in order to provide the best stage for our artists

We are now growing again as a festival to expand from not only emerging artists, indie-theatre and new works, but also more artistic disciplines. For this year’s festival we want to provide an artistically diverse and unique experience for our audience!

This includes what you would expect from Common Ground as well as more dance, physical storytelling and non-traditional story telling by emerging and small professional artists.

What we are looking for from submissions:

•  Theatrical physical story tellers: Dancers, Clowns, Mimes, Puppetry, etc.
• New works
• Anything you’ve ever wanted to perform but haven’t had a chance to yet.
• Have an unfinished piece or just a very short show that you want to try in front of an audience? There may also be a cabaret for short versions of works either complete or in progress.
• We also have a focus on artists from Calgary, Alberta

The Common Ground Festival is (and always will be) looking for innovative, experimental or original works that showcases authentic and creatively embodied stories. if you've got a thing, we’ve got a stage for you.

Deadline for submissions: July 31, 2025
How to submit: Fill out this form: forms.gle 

The festival will be happening from November 12 to 15, 2025