WHAT

A family friendly celebration of cabaret, comedy, acrobatics, juggling, vaudeville and aerial artistry, featuring more than a dozen different acts.  

WHEN & WHERE

7:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, and 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at Open Space for Arts & Community. 

HOW TO GET TICKETS

Buy tickets, $10 to $20, at  www.brownpapertickets.com and at the door. Box office opens one hour before shows.   

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Moisture Festival, a high-octane event that has charmed Seattle audiences for the past eight years, will jump the pond again this year to bring a lineup of variety and vaudeville acts to Vashon’s Open Space for Arts & Community. 

Kevin Joyce, a well-known Island performer who has been involved in Moisture Festival since its inception, will emcee Friday night’s show at Open Space.

Joyce recalled how the first Moisture Festival was held in a tent in Fremont.

“It was still in springtime, so it was wet — hence the name,” Joyce said, adding that after all the intervening years, he still loves being a part of the show. 

“It’s a pure example of the kind of humor, beauty, wonder and awe that we lack and need as a culture. It’s a sort of magical, sacred celebration of laughter,” he said. 

On Friday, the lineup will include NANDA, an act that combines acrobatics, dance, juggling and kung-fu acro-fighting; Wang Hong, a celebrated Chinese foot-balancer; Bill Robison, a noted comic who has opened for Bill Cosby, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra; comic and magician John Carney, and two clown acts from Germany — Hacki Ginda and Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy.  

On Saturday, comedian and clown Frank Oliver will emcee. 

He’ll be joined onstage by the famous clown Avner the Eccentric; Karen Quest, who does rope and whip tricks; circus artist Luke Wilson, and Nate Cooper, whose act includes clogging, tap and swing dancing, juggling, roller skating and clowning. Wang Hong will also perform again on Saturday. 

A band called the Super8s and aerial artists Helena Reynolds and Elizabeth Rose will perform on both Friday and Saturday. 

Part of the proceeds from Saturday’s matinee performance will go to support Vashon Youth & Family Services.

For more information about Moisture  Festival, visit www.moisturefestival.org and www.openspacevashon.com.