Wellington Puppetry Festival returns this spring to fill the Vogelmorn Precinct with Puppetry and Wonder! A family-first celebration brought to life by our own community of puppeteers, storytellers and makers.
Festival Dates: 18 to 20 September, 2026
Festival Venue: Vogelmorn Bowling Club, 93 Mornington Road, Brooklyn (Wet weather venue for Saturday morning Carnival: The Ridgeway School Hall)
Designed to inspire our local community with creativity and nurture the growth of puppetry arts in Aotearoa, the Wellington Puppetry Festival returns this year dedicated to ‘Puppets for Peace’. Drop in to our Saturday morning FREE outdoor Junk Puppet Carnival on the Vogelmorn Green, with hands-on Junk Puppet Making workshops, Recycled Paper Crafts, The Odditorium, Roaming Puppets, Little Landscapes show, Teatro Lambe Lambe (tiny theatres), Street Musicians, a Chill Zone for mums with bubs,Cafe and even an Ice Cream van!
On both Saturday and Sunday there will be a selection of ticketed Shows for children and whānau (only $12), including an audio-described show for low vision and blind audiences and a specially commissioned work with funding from The Peace and Disarmament Education Trust; ‘The Fish’, by Joey Sheppard - a magical puppetry performance featuring giant fish puppets, shadow play, crankies and physical theatre. We also have festival favourites Toro Pikopiko, using traditional Māori kare-tao puppets to tell an interactive pūrākau for the whole whānau to enjoy.
Over the weekend, you can engage with an exciting variety of puppetry workshops for teenagers and adults and after 5.30pm on Saturday, the festival gets a little wilder! Join us for an evening of bold, funny and surprising Stand-up Puppetry, a specially commissioned show 'The Fish', Teatro Lambe Lambe (Tiny theaters) and a bowl of our famous festival Pea Soup!