One Yellow Rabbit gives the city 40 magical reasons to celebrate in January
As the chill of the winter cold takes over the city in January, One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo (HPR) is set to heat up Calgary’s performing arts scene.
Now in its 40th year, HPR combines established international artists with emerging and established local talent, drawing Calgarians to the city’s core with a diverse array of performances that feature contemporary theatre, dance, music, and interdisciplinary experimentation.
Over four decades, the festival has developed a reputation for championing work that challenges expectations and defies boundaries, says HPR festival producer Oliver Armstrong.
“The Rodeo has always been a love letter to live performance — to the risk, the laughter, the connection that only happens in a room full of people sharing something real,” he says, adding the festival is still the “wildest show in town.”
“This year’s lineup is the perfect mix of fresh discoveries and long-time favourites: the artists who built this festival and the new ones who’ll carry it into the next 40 years. If you think you know what to expect, you probably don’t — and that’s exactly how we like it.”
Images courtesy of One Yellow Rabbit
Running from January 13–31 across multiple venues across Calgary, the 40th edition of the popular festival features Lucha VaVOOM, Daniel MacIvor, ONALEA, ‘Goblins’ and more than 30 productions led by artistic director Blake Brooker.
Armstrong says the festival grew from modest roots 40 years ago into a world-renowned International festival with bold avant-garde performances for four decades, earning a reputation as one of the world’s most genre-defying.
“The very first festival was literally held in a freight elevator, and you got phoned at the last minute to tell you where to go,” Armstrong says.
“Now we're a resident company in Werklund Centre and we use the Martha Cohen Theatre and the Jack Singer Concert Hall.”
Despite the evolution, the festival hasn’t forgotten its eclectic roots.
"We can scale everything from 1,500-seat venues to 40-seat venues. Are we still excited about going into a coffee shop or an abandoned lot… 100%,” Armstrong says. “The added environment of the theatre lobby or the gallery can’t be understated.”
Martha Cohen Theatre, image courtesy of One Yellow Rabbit
Armstrong says One Yellow Rabbit’s programming philosophy hasn’t changed over the years.
“We have very few rules about how we curate a performance. If it doesn't fit a category of theatre or music or dance… then we get really excited about it.”
Armstrong says most of the creators of the work are also the ones performing it, which is an important facet of the mission –– and it’s all about bringing live performances to life.
“We lean into the live gathering aspect of live performance and everything that means. The joy of gathering live is something that has always been key to our festival.”
The result is a program that shifts constantly in tone and scale. One performance may rely on traditional theatrical structure; the next may unveil an immersive installation or an edgy late-night experiment.
The variety is deliberate, and it has become a defining feature of the Rodeo’s identity, says Armstrong, who promises that this milestone anniversary will blend daring new productions with beloved fan favourites.
In particular, Armstrong is excited to bring back a festival staple after at least a decade, which is always a crowd-pleaser with Miss Rita’s Lucha VaVOOM.
“This is really exciting for us, because it's reviving a tradition that we've had here at the High Performance Rodeo for many years,” he says, adding the January 24 production is taking over WinSport Event Centre.
“So there will be 1,500 people together in a room where the energy is just going to blast the roof open. This really showcases how weird and wild performances can get and still be included in a Calgary festival.”
Images courtesy of One Yellow Rabbit & Miss Rita's Lucha VaVOOM
Calgary poet, musician and performing artist Kris Demeanor is bringing his latest work to life on the HPR stage. The sharp-witted, genre-bending artist often blends music and performances with humour, social commentary and poetic grit.
Demeanor always enjoyed One Yellow Rabbit theatre performances, and that love soon spilled over into his affection for rodeo programming.
“I was a long-time consumer of the rodeo,” Demeanor reminisces. “It was one of those first big-scale city-wide festivals that I had experience with.”
Soon after discovering the festival, Demeanor found himself getting involved in it.
“I started getting invited to do some of the late-night cabarets as a guest musician,” Demeanor explains.
“Then I was asked to be part of Calgary, I Love You, But You're Killing Me, which was a cycle of songs relating to being a resident and growing up in Calgary. A couple of years later, we did one called Moon, Moon, No Moon, which was one of my favourite pieces to be part of.”
Just before the pandemic hit, Demeanor put on a full-length solo show with music and a narrative arc called Russell Straight Up, which was a show based on a character that he developed for Calgary, I Love You, But You're Killing Me.
“The character was sort of an amalgamation of a lot of my buddies that I grew up with from junior high, and you know what? There's a bit of me in there, too, after half a bottle of rye.”
His most recent project was last year’s Echoes of the Land, a Ghost River Theatre production featuring six musicians in a ring — three Indigenous performers, three settler performers — who collaborated on music together. The project was then revived for Werklund Centre's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30.
“People enjoyed it while lying on the mats with blindfolds on in the dark… it was just kind of a really cool, somewhat meditative, reflective experience.”
Demeanor’s love for the event has always been because of its wild and unpredictable nature.
“They have almost a punk rock aesthetic that I, as a musician by trade, really identified with.
There is a wonderful sense of camaraderie and collaboration that I would always feel about the festivals or on the road with the band,” he says, adding that the One Yellow Rabbit artistic identity also appeals to him.
“So many of their shows are based on poetry in a world and a culture that really doesn't consume or absorb poetry collectively unless it's through song lyrics.”
What drew Demeanor in as a fan and what delights him as a participant is a complete sense of artistic and creative freedom.
“The collaborations turn into really deep friendships,” Demeanor says.
Armstrong echoes that sentiment.
“One of the cool things about having been doing this festival for 40 years is we made a lot of friends along the way.”
A new addition to this year’s festival includes a Poster Show featuring original works from local artists presented in collaboration with the Alberta Printmakers.
This collection of hand-crafted silk-screened creations will reflect back on the last 40 years of the festival while also looking forward to the future.
Available for viewing in the Laycraft Lounge for the run of the festival, guests will also have the opportunity to bid on limited edition prints in support of One Yellow Rabbit.
This year’s highlights:
- Dream Machine
- January 14 – 24, 2026
- Big Secret Theatre, Werklund Centre
- A reunion and re-staging of one of One Yellow Rabbit's most beloved, boundary-pushing creations set amid the ‘50s beat circle, immersing audiences in flickering lights, hypnotic rhythm and the restless pursuit of creative freedom.
- Miss Rita’s Lucha VaVOOM
- January 24, 2026
- WinSport Event Centre
- In true Rodeo fashion, the festival gets loud, wild, and unpredictable with the Los Angeles–based spectacle that fuses lucha libre, burlesque, and comedy before a 1,500-strong crowd at WinSport.
- Goblin: Gala
- January 22, 2026
- Martha Cohen Theatre, Werklund Centre
- Created by long-time festival favourites Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak: a trio of Goblins go off script in this glorious one-night-only celebration.
- The End of the World Cabaret
- January 17, 2026
- Engineered Air Theatre, Werklund Centre
- ONALEA, the Calgary-born, New York-based performer returns home for a one-night-only performance of The End of the World Cabaret. A lush, genre-bending evening of song and storytelling blending jazz, swing and unmistakable theatrical edge.
- Your Show Here
- January 28 – 31, 2026
- Big Secret Theatre, Werklund Centre
- Celebrated playwright and monologist Daniel MacIvor brings a funny, touching true story about what happens after you lose your creative partner, mixing grief, rage and absurdity in a masterclass of storytelling and vulnerability.
- Juliet: A Revenge Comedy
- January 21 – 24, 2026
- Martha Cohen Theatre, Werklund Centre
- What if Juliet got a different ending? In this fast-paced, feminist action-comedy, Juliet takes control of her own story, and she’s not going down without a fight.
For more information and to get tickets, visit oyr.org/hprodeo or call the Werklund Centre Box Office at 403-294-9494.
Header image: Goblins, High Performance Rodeo, One Yellow Rabbit
Krista Sylvester is a Calgary journalist, artist and content creator known for her compelling storytelling and sharp writing. With a background in news, lifestyle and the arts, she crafts engaging content that resonates with audiences. Krista’s ability to uncover and share meaningful stories is what fuels her passion.
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