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Since the dawn of time—or at least since someone first glued string to a wooden limb—puppetry has been one of the world’s most polarizing art forms. Some find puppets downright adorable; others are still unpacking childhood trauma involving carved smiles and unblinking eyes. Chicago, however, has clearly chosen a side. The city’s appetite for puppets is downright ravenous, which is why the 8th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival kicks off its 12-day takeover tomorrow, January 21.
Now presented annually, the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival corrals puppeteers from across the globe, including artists from England, France, Norway, Denmark, India, South Korea and Spain—and, of course, Chicago itself. The largest event of its kind in North America, the festival drew a record-breaking crowd last year, welcoming more than 22,000 attendees. These are people who willingly chose Chicago as a January travel destination, which tells you everything you need to know about the power of marionettes.
The 2026 festival spans 12 days and dozens of venues across the city, transforming Chicago into a global pageant of felt, foam, wood and ingenuity. Alongside ticketed performances, there are free shows, exhibits and the always-buzzing Puppet Hub—a cozy headquarters featuring the Spoke & Bird Pop-Up Café (serving coffee, tea, winter soups and baked goods), a Pop-Up Puppet Shop and two free exhibits perfect for lingering.
Programming runs the gamut from delightfully wholesome to wildly adult. The festival showcases a wide range of traditional and contemporary styles, from Japanese bunraku-inspired works and shadow puppetry to marionettes and object-based performances that make you reconsider what, exactly, constitutes a puppet.
For kids, a standout is The Harlem Doll Palace, based on the true story of Lenon Holder Hoyt—better known as Aunt Len—a Harlem public school art teacher who spent 40 years creating an extraordinary doll museum inside her brownstone. Another family favorite is Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile, a mischievous musical featuring a giant crocodile puppet that chomps through the scenery with unapologetic glee.
Adults, meanwhile, can head straight for The Sex Lives of Puppets, an impish, improvisational exploration of sex, humanity and the surprisingly deep underbelly of puppet eroticism. Also not to be missed is Dead as a Dodo, which opens the festival. Created by fan-favorite company Wakka Wakka, the mesmerizing musical follows a journey of survival, transformation and friendship—proving that even extinct birds can feel emotionally relatable when rendered in puppet form.
The 8th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival runs January 21 through February 1, 2026, at venues throughout the city. Tickets are on sale now here.