The Americana Burlesque & Sideshow Festival is now in our TENTH year of celebrating the Vaudeville Revival here in Asheville. Three thousand people have reveled in the company of our satin and sparkle, our unicorn-feathered starlets and our fish-eyed zombie boys.

Nominated for Best Show in the Mountain Xpress Readers Choice Awards, ABSFest has attracted renowned circus and burlesque artists from across the USA, as well as Scotland, Germany, and Japan. We offer fashion, contortion, trapeze, and tease!

In a world now brimming with Burlesque Festivals, from Vegas to Amsterdam, ABSFest is known for embodying the true spirit of Vaudeville and nurturing creativity and empowerment.

The festival is one of several annual productions of Future of Tradition, a seminal force in the underground Asheville arts community since 1999. ABSFest has spawned a sister event, the Virginia Burlesque & Sideshow Festival in Richmond, VA, now in its third year, and festival Producer Lauren 'Madame Onça' O'Leary travels internationally teaching and performing bellydance, music and stagecraft.