The Chicago International Puppet Festival is a 12 day event that has been taking place in Chicago for several years that has attracts about 22,000 audience members who travel from around the world to be a part of the biggest event dedicated to puppetry in North America.

This is a wonderful interview conducted by Chicago Broadcasting Network contributor Kim Campbell with Sandy Smith Gerding, Executive Director of the Chicago International Puppet Festival and Taylor Bibat, the festival coordinator and Director of Education.

Listen, not only, for details of the festival events taking place in 2026 but also interesting tidbits about the art of puppetry and the world of puppetry as a creative art form.

#chicago #puppetry #puppets #puppet #festival

This year we reviewed over 30 Chicago plays and events. This podcast recaps favorites and highlights of the 2025 season plus a few ideas for 2026.
Some productions mentioned include:
Iraq But Funny
Amelie
Tom & Eliza
Galileo
Hedda Gabler
and a few more.

The uplifting story of a distinctively red haired, hopelessly optimistic, depression era orphan named Annie is firmly rooted in the early 1930s where the stark contrast between the haves and have-nots was plainly evident everywhere. This was especially true in urban centers like New York City where fortunes large and small were lost in the 1929 stock market crash.