Summer Puppet Pier Festival

Summer Puppet Pier 2020 Poster.svg — Poster for the Summer Puppet Pier Festival, 2020.

Launched in 1990, the annual Summer Puppet Pier - International Puppetry Festival, Maribor, organised by the Maribor Puppet Theatre, is a longstanding fixture of the city’s summer cultural programme, with a line-up of productions for children and adults alike. Since 2019, the children’s jury has presented the Golden Giraffe Award to the festival’s best performance.

Venues and programme

Originally staged at various locations around the city – including the atrium of Maribor Castle, Astoria Garden, and Rotovški Square – the festival moved in 2010 to the renovated Minorite complex together with the Maribor Puppet Theatre.

Its programme brings together a vibrant mix of Slovenian and international puppetry, with a strong presence of domestic productions alongside guest performances from across Europe and beyond. Developed in collaboration with a range of Slovenian puppetry producers and promoters, it is accompanied by workshops, exhibitions and other events, including projects prepared with the Maribor Art Gallery. Over the years, festival performances have also travelled to other Slovenian towns, while selected Slovenian productions have toured across the border to Austria.