Unique and unexpected festival coming to Mississauga soon

Mississauga | Ontario | Art | Lifestyle |

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Published March 6, 2020 at 8:49 pm

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Mississauga is well known for its festivals, as it’s become the site of food, beer and music events that attract thousands of people each and every year.

Now, however, the city is about to welcome a most unusual–but, we must admit, incredibly charming–festival that’s probably pretty fun for the whole family. 

The Mississauga-based Crane Creations Theatre Company recently announced that the inaugural Bridges Festival, which celebrates puppetry, is coming to Mississauga this month. 

The new three-day professional puppetry festival will focus on the work of Canadian puppeteers.

“We are placing Mississauga on the map as a prime Ontario destination for puppetry,” organizers said in a news release. 

“Each year, the Bridges Festival will present the work of some of the best Canadian and international puppeteers. The festival strives to provide inspiration, interaction and learning experiences for audiences and artists alike.”

The festival will run from March 13-15 and will take place at four locations:

  • Shake – Giant Puppets: March 13, 9:00 PM at Celebration Square
  • Shake – Giant Puppets: March 14, 8:00 PM at Port Credit Square
  • Giant Dragon Exhibit: March 3 – 26 at The Small Arms Building
  • All other shows and workshops are happening at Maja Prentice Theatre (1350 Burnhamthorpe Rd. E.) 

While the idea of a puppetry festival might sound odd, it’s safe to say that society is still quite in love with puppets. Most recently, audiences subscribed to Disney+ in droves in order to fawn over Baby Yoda (the most beautiful animatronic puppet of all time) in The Mandalorian. A significant number of people also enjoyed the puppet-laden Dark Crystal reboot on Netflix. 

Organizers say the three-day event will feature shows, workshops and an informative exhibition. 

“For us, animation is expressed in various forms of moving/animating inanimate objects. These forms include puppetry, automata, stop-motion animation, film and digital animation and robotics,” organizers said in a news release. 

“We are curious about the questions of how life is created and impacted by objects exploring human stories and forming relations with humans.

Organizers say they want to celebrate traditional forms of puppetry and the skills of the puppet designers and performers while expanding the conversation of what is puppetry and animation and how it touches the contemporary world.

While organizers have planned for a three-day festival, they say they hope to extend the festival over the full March Break and perhaps longer.

“In 2021, we will add international shows and expand our reach by bringing artists from other provinces in Canada, as well as offer more opportunities for local artists,” organizers says.

Organizers hope the festival becomes something of a destination for people from all over the GTA.

To buy tickets, click here. 

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