📆 Thursday, March 21st – Sunday, April 14th
🎟 Tickets start at $10 – Full prices here
📍 Broadway Performance Hall: 1625 Broadway, Seattle
📍 Emerald City Trapeze Arts: 2702 6th Ave S, Seattle
Way, way back in the day—the day was in 2004—organizers established the first Moisture Festival in Seattle. Inspired by the Oregon Country Fair and a comedy and varietè festival in Berlin, the fest wanted to develop a unique way to showcase Seattle’s vaudeville, circus, and burlesque scenes. (It’s pretty possible I was there at the start, roped into volunteering by a friend, at the five-day event held in a rented tent in Fremont.) As Moisture grew, it made its way to the converted warehouse space of Hale’s brewery, which became Hale’s Palladium. Now, the largest festival of its kind worldwide, its 20th anniversary runs for a month at Broadway Performance Hall.
In the true spirit of vaudeville, a variety show popular in the early 20th century, each Moisture show has a variety of performers on the bill—and that bill changes from night to night. Aerialists, magicians, strong women/men/people, dancers of every persuasion, comedians, musicians, and more take the stage for three-to-ten minutes, all accompanied by a live band.
Expect each show to contain about eight to 10 acts with an intermission. A few of the entertainers this year include:
- Duo Rose trapeze artists
- Juggler Thom Wall
- Aerialist Avery Cluff
- Singer-songwriter J.R. Rhodes
- Martika, a one-woman stunt show
Closing night will move to Emerald City Trapeze Arts. Use the fest’s calendar to see who is performing and when.
In an effort to make Moisture affordable to everyone, accessible seating is available by request. All 3 pm and 7:30 pm shows are for all ages. The 10:30 pm shows are 18+ and contain adult content. Pay what you can on Wednesdays with sliding scale tickets. They also accept TeenTix passes, allowing a $5 day-of-show ticket for TeenTix participants. If you volunteer (like I did), know that volunteers typically get to see most of the shows they work on. How often do you get to mingle with magicians?
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