Doors - 7:00pm
Show - 8:00pm

All Ages

$20-$25

All tickets subject to service fees

What is a Puppet Slam?

A Puppet Slam is a puppet variety show made by adult puppeteers of all skill levels for an adult audience.

Like a miniature Fringe Festival with one location and where every act involves puppetry of some kind, the audience is always in for a surprise. Marionettes, sock puppets, hand puppets, costume puppets, animatronic puppets, shadow puppets, mask performances, object theatre and more have graced the stage of a Winnipeg Puppet Slam. The acts are humorous, sombre, musical, political, celebrations of beauty and everything between. The art on display is as diverse as the individuals presenting. Yet every performer is equally engaged in the act of transmitting their souls to an object and giving it life! 

Is a Puppet Slam just a Winnipeg thing? No! 

Puppet Slams grew out of late night short-form puppet performances that were beginning to appear in the United States in the later 20th century. The name “ Puppet Slam” was coined in the mid-nineties when Poetry Slams were gaining popularity. However, while Puppet Slams share a similar structure and creative energy to Poetry Slams, Puppet Slams are non-competitive. 

Heather Henson (daughter of Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets) launched the Puppet Slam Network in 2005 as a way to connect, fund and organize Puppet Slams. Their mandate is to provide a venue for artists of all abilities to express themselves through the medium of puppetry.

How did Winnipeg start a Puppet Slam? 

In 2010, Heather Henson came to Winnipeg to present her collection of short puppet films, Handmade Puppet Dreams, as a part of the Plastic Paper animation festival. She met several local puppeteers and encouraged them to host a Puppet Slam in Winnipeg. It was then that The Winnipeg Puppet Collective was born. The Puppet Collective hosted their first Puppet Slam in 2010 and have been hosting one event per year ever since. The 2026 Winnipeg Puppet Slam will be the 16th show and the 1st puppet slam hosted at the West End Cultural Centre!