Glowing puppets will illuminate a real cave in this surreal opera experience near Calgary

The cave is calling all travellers at the convergence of space and time.

If that sounds equally creepy and enthralling, you might want to check out Cave of Dreams, a performance art piece that will take place for one night only at Rat’s Nest Cave, in Canmore, Alta.

The Festival of Animated Objects, Canadian Academy of Mask and Puppetry, and Canmore Cave Tours will present an “immersive opera experience” featuring original choral music by Cassandra J. Dueck.

You can expect moving puppetry under the glow of lamplight, accompanied by choral music echoing throughout the walls of the cave, during this exhilarating performance.

It’ll be equal parts transformative, haunting, beautiful, creepy and moving in the limestone Rat’s Nest Cave.

What to expect

Cave of Dreams is presented by a group of artists who describe the performance as “an invention bound by the night sky and a love affair between the moon and a limestone burrow.”

This will not be your typical sit-in-a-seat opera event; instead, it’ll be a reflective ode to the other side, amplified by the natural acoustics of a real, undeveloped cave.

You can expect to be dressed head-to-toe in quality caving equipment and teamed up with experienced guides from Canmore Cave Tours.

You’ll walk, shimmy and crawl to the depths of the earth to reach the performance venue.

The show encourages you to “let go of the comforts of home and follow the tones of the hang drum down into the deep” in a real cave-like experience that’ll make you feel more connected to the dawn of mankind.

This will be a truly unforgettable event for cave explorers and lovers of live performance art alike.

If you’re able to muster up enough courage to explore the depths of the earth and human consciousness, we’ll see you down there.

The Cave of Dreams

When: Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: 129 Bow Meadows Crescent, Canmore, Alta.
Cost: $175

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