Beneficiaries Sought For 2013 Shows

Moisture Festival is dedicated to giving back to the generous community we are a part of in Seattle. Every year at the festival we produce several shows that benefit very worthy organizations.  In past years we have partnered with  The New Old Time Chautauqua, Circus Contraption, SANCA - the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts, "Aerlift" an aerial show presented by The Aerial Army of Love, Vashon Youth & Family Services, B. F. Day School Foundation, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Clowns Without Borders, and The Fremont Arts Council.

The Moisture Festival is looking for 501(c)3 organizations to support through our 2013 benefit shows.

Does your organization have a robust contact list and a dedicated group of supporters? If so, consider partnering with the Moisture Festival to put on a benefit show. More information is available on our website.

Video Highlights Of Moulin To Moisture Auction Party

Here's some great video highlights from the Moulin to Moisture auction. The show featured MC auctioneer Kevin Joyce, Frank Olivier, Aerialist Lara Paxton, Charly Castor of Les Castors, Fuchsia Foxx, The Flordigan Can Can Girls and the Zebra Kings Band. Moisture Festival Board Members Kris Raftis, Tom Hillier and Ron W. Bailey also make cameo appearances.  

The video was filmed at Hale's Palladium and produce by 'Ambodha'.

Thank You | Moulin To Moisture Auction Fundraiser Takes Giant Step Towards Helping Fund The 2013 10th Annual Moisture Festival

Moisture Festival Board Members Kris Raftis and Tom Hillier Make The Pitch

We'd like to sincerely thank the over 200 generous festival patrons who attended the Moulin to Moisture auction and show on Friday October 5th at Hale's Palladium. The show featured MC auctioneer Kevin Joyce, Frank Olivier, Aerialist Lara Paxton, Charly Castor of Les Castors, Fuchsia Foxx, The Flordigan Can Can Girls, and the music of the Zebra Kings.

MC and Auctioneer 'magnifique' Kevin Joyce

The event was made possible by the donation of over $21,000 of auction items and the support from community businesses and organizations. We'd like to especially thank the great folks at Hale's Brewery, the Back Door at Roxy's and Tom Bennett Catering. Also the event would not have been possible without the support of our remarkable volunteers. The auction raised over $25,000 that will help with the funding of the 10th anniversary festival in 2013 and our ongoing operations. We are deeply grateful for your support. More John Cornicello's photos of the evening can be found on facebook.

Special thanks to all of our item donors: A Sound Choice, INC, Minglement, the Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie, The Hardware Store, ACT Theatre, Anytime Fitness, Avery Milieu, Banya 5, Center for Wooden Boats, Century Ballroom, Choice Organic Teas, Chumleigh's Central Casting, Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, EMP, Hale's Brewery, Henry Art Gallery, Holland America Line, Jet City Improv, Jillian's, Jovanna Joan Casey, Kevin Joyce and Jennifer, Sutherland, KEXP 90.3FM, Louise Britton, Macrina Bakery, Marteau Absinthe, Northwest Folklife, Northwest Puppet Center, Seattle Children's Theatre, On the Boards, One Reel, Pinehurst Chiropractic - Dr. David Kirdahy, DC, Poppy, Rain City Video & Scarecrow Video, Rendezvous, JewelBox Theater, Rick Shanti, Robin Worley Fashion and Costume Design, Ron W. Bailey, S. Landau Services, SANCA, Seattle Arts and Lectures, Seattle Hempfest, Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Theatre Group, Teatro ZinZanni, The Museum of Flight, Tacoma Art Museum, The Pike Brewing Company, The Ruins, The Stranger, Utilikilts Company, LLC, Vaudeville Central, Vitality Pilates.

Ticket Now On Sale For Our Fabulous Moulin To Moisture Auction And Party October 5th

Moulin to Moisture Show & Auction

Our Moulin to Moisture Show & Auction will celebrate the rich history of vaudeville and varieté, from the legendary Moulin Rouge (opened October 6, 1889) to the soon-to-be-legendary Moisture Festival. This whimsical and raucous evening in a cabaret atmosphere will feature a $5 raffle for a prize pack worth hundreds, a not-so-silent auction accompanied by live music and surprise performances, a side-splitting live auction, delicious hors d'oeuvres and drinks, joyous dancing and, of course, an inimitable Moisture Festival comedy/varieté show! Don't miss this unique opportunity to show your support for the world's largest and longest comedy/varieté festival while experiencing the history and magic of this marvelous art form first hand. Ooh la la!  October 5th, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in Hale's Palladium Doors open and Silent Auction begins at 6:00 p.m. Silent Auction, 6:00 - 7:45 p.m. Live Auction, 8:00 p.m. Moulin to Moisture Varietè Show, 9:00 p.m. Music, dancing and check out begin at 10:00 p.m. Click Here To Purchase Tickets *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* The evening will include live music and brief performances during the silent auction and, following the live auction, a 45-minute performance featuring: Frank Olivier From San Francisco, Frank has generously contributed his outrageous juggling talents to the success of the festival for 8 out of 10 years and we're thrilled to have him as part of our Moulin to Moisture show. He has shared the bill with Dana Carvey, Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg. He performed his act for three years on Broadway in the hit show 'Sugar Babies'. His television appearances have included The Tonight Show, Comic Strip Live, and shows for PBS, HBO, BBC and Disney. Kevin Joyce Our MC and Auctioneer for the evening, Kevin Joyce, has established himself as one of the most versatile and prolific creative artists in the Pacific Northwest. Among his many artistic accomplishments are creating and starring in the award-winning one-man show A Pale and Lovely Place, co-founding the acclaimed UMO Ensemble and serving as a principal performer and Director of Teatro ZinZanni. Lara Paxton of the Aerialistas Founder of the Aerialistas and Circus Contraption, Paxton has studied circus arts in Seattle, San Francisco, Montreal, Los Angeles and Buenos Aires since 1998. A true pioneer in the rapidly-growing Seattle circus arts community, she continues to perfect and teach the arts of trapeze, rope, fabric, hoop and invented apparatus. Charly Castor of Les Castors Charly was born in the heart of Paris to the fifth generation of Castors in show business. Charly and his brothers Toly and Eddy make up the acrobatic trio Les Castors which has entertained audiences around the world and across decades. From Monte Carlo to the studios of The Ed Sullivan show, the Lido of Paris to Hong Kong, Charly and his family, who live near the Moulin Rouge in Paris, have made huge contributions to the renaissance of vaudeville. In Seattle and San Francisco, Charly has been involved with Teatro ZinZanni since its inception. Fuchsia Foxx Crowned the "Hot Pink Habanero" by The Stranger and voted "Seattle's Sexiest Burlesque Performer" (2008) Fuchsia FoXX performs a stand-out hybrid of bellydancing and burlesque. She has entertained audiences from tv-land on America's Got Talent and internationally in the London, Amsterdam and Canadian International Burlesque Festivals. The Flordigan Can Can Girls One simply cannot refer to the Moulin Rouge without including can-can dancers. These high-kicking ladies will bring the glamor and excitement of the Moulin Rouge to life on October 5th. *Performer lineup subject to change Here are just a handful of the many amazing items you'll be able to bid on at a steal! The bidding will start well below the fair market value of all items.  ACT Theatre Two ACTPasses for year-long access to everything ACT produces in its 2013 season. Fair Market Value: $600 Banya 5 Five passes to Banya 5 urban spa. Pamper yourself five times or invite four friends and make it a spa day with these five passes for admission. Each card includes the use of the jetted hot tub, salt/tepid pool, cold plunge, Turkish steam room, Russian-style sauna, warm and cold drench showers, and Tea Lounge. Fair Market Value: $200  EMP Museum Four passes good for admission to all exhibitions at EMP Museum. EMP Museum is a leading-edge, non-profit museum, dedicated to the ideas and risk-taking that fuel contemporary popular culture. With its roots in rock and roll, EMP serves as a gateway museum, reaching multigenerational audiences through our collections, exhibitions and educational programs, using interactive technologies to engage and empower our visitors. Fair Market Value: $72  Hale's Ales You and your friends and family (up to 20 people) will tour the inside of Hale's Brewery for a "behind the scenes" look at this singular craft brewery, before sitting down to taste and talk beer in Hale's Pub. Then, all of you will have three hours to go wherever you want in Hale's own double-decker bus! Fair Market Value: $500 Holland America Line Any 7-day Holland America Line cruise for two in Alaska, the Caribbean, Mexico or Canada/New England. Fair Market Value: $1598-$3298 (depending on choice of cruise) The Ruins Dinner for four at The Ruins, a strikingly unique, private dining club in Lower Queen Anne. Fair Market Value: $500  Seattle International Film Festival Two admit-one full series passes to the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival (May 16 - June 9, 2013). Passes valid for admission to all regular Festival screenings and press screenings. Fair Market Value: $3500 Seattle Repertory Theater One pair of tickets to the Seattle Repertory Theatre during their 2012-13 season in the Bagley Wright Theatre. Fair Market Value: $150 Teatro ZinZanni A certificate redeemable for an unforgettable evening for two at Seattle's legendary Teatro Zinzanni! Includes a critically-acclaimed, 3 -hour performance and a five-course gourmet meal. Fair Market Value: $242 A link to our full auction catalog will be available here beginning Monday, October 1st. Early Photo of the Moulin Rouge Paris

Moisture Festival Favorites NANDA Open West Coast Tour Of 'The Jacket' In Seattle This October

The NANDA Legend Tour opens at Broadway Performance Hall in Seattle October 5th through 7th. Tickets will be available soon.

                  October 5th – 7th – Seattle, WA – Broadway Performance Hall

October 12th – Langley, WA - South Whidbey Performing Arts Center

October 13th – Port Angeles, WA – High School Theater

October 20th – Vancouver, Canada – Kae Meeke Center

October 27th – Orcas Island, WA – Orcas Center

October 28th – Friday Harbor, WA – San Juan Community Theater

November 1st – Hood River, OR – Middle School Theater

November 2nd - 4th – Eugene, OR – Lane Community College Theatre

November 9th – Medford, OR – Craterian Theatre

November 30th – December 9th – North Hollywood, CA – El Portal

Characterized by a calculated chaos of comedy, high-energy kung-faux fighting, and irreverent pop-culture parodies, NANDA has been performing original action packed theater based shows since 2004.  Also utilizing dance, juggling, and acrobatics, NANDA performances are a mishmash of traditional theater, vaudeville, circus and modern live entertainment innovation. 

'The Jacket' is first independently produced full-length theater show by NANDA!!
Teeming with juggling, acrobatics and martial arts, “THE JACKET” combines comedy and irreverent pop-culture references for an entirely original performance. The show features a cutting edge cinematic soundtrack, as well as tightly integrated video projections and digital animations - all the while borrowing from circus, vaudeville, and classic western theater traditions. This panoply of stylistic influences is propelled by an epic story, replete with ancient mystics, kung-faux ninjas, robots, lasers, and a myriad of other action movie oddities.  The result is not only a show that is truly unique, but one that strongly resonates with all of the mainstream entertainment phenomena that it deftly parodies.

The four performing members of NANDA grew up together in Port Townsend, WA and within the supportive environment cultivated there, developed a vision of limitless creative expression free of predefined labels, which has become an ideal for an entirely new and unique idea of performance art.   Using this idea of “acrobaticalism” as a window to the world, NANDA has invented material gaining inspiration everywhere from cinema and pop-culture icons to rock music and even cartoons. 

This explode-out-of-the-box mentality has inspired extensive explorations into a variety of other avenues, including live video projection, animation and sound.  Nearly every second of the action being performed is accompanied by a tightly integrated cinematic sound track making the show a visceral audio/visual blast.  This full sensory experience along with the high degree of physicality used to convey the action make NANDA shows accessible not only to audiences of virtually any age or background, but also of any language or nationality.

Moisture Performer Bob Venezia's Hauntingly Beautiful And Award Winning Video 'Pieces of The Fair'

Pieces of the Fair (or How I Patched the Hole in My Heart Where the Fun Forest Used To Be) from Bob V on Vimeo.

Pieces of the Fair" was awarded the Critics Choice Grand Prize at the Stacked Video Contest which is held in conjunction with the Capitol Hill Block Party. These time-lapse sequences record the carnival's transition from day to night and are set to the haunting music of Gina Leishman.

The movie is dedicated to the memory of Drew Keriakedes and Joe Albanese.

When Bob Venezia is not creating beautiful and award winning videos like this one he can often be found performing at the Moisture Festival in the persona of Alfredo Fettuccini.

Highly Recommended - SIFF Cinema - 'Into The Vaults' - Library of Congress Archives

We love to mention stuff about our fellow non-profit arts organizations. Especially when it's about SIFF, who have been full on supporters of Moisture Festival almost from the beginning. So we are trying to get the word out about this remarkable four-day SIFF celebration of films, 'Into The Vaults' running July 26th through 29th. This series of films are from the archives of the Library of Congress, which include a mixture of early cinema classics from the silent era through the 1940s, all presented in pristine archival 35mm prints! Plus, a special guest, the legendary composer Donald Sosin will be on hand to provide an original live score for all silent films in the series. 

Almost forgot, a special offer for our fans and the Moisture Festival family, just use the discount code 'LOC2012' for an special discount of $2 off the ticket price. More info and tickets click here. What a treat and here's a short video to prove it.