Knot to be missed

Mar 16

Festival of Illusions returns to Lincoln City

The annual Festival of Illusions will return to the Lincoln City Cultural Center in 2021, bringing back the weatherproof family escapades that make spring break on the Oregon Coast so magical.

This year’s activities will include live, in-person performances by stunt comic Matt Baker; Louie Foxx the One Man Side Show; and festival favorite magician Jeff Evans; a balloon-twisting workshop; and a special matinée magic show. Kids can scratch the art itch with Creative Abracadabra Magic Art Kits, offered for easy pickup in the center’s Creative Quarantine shop with all materials and instructions included.

All that, plus a Zoom Room performance by the Amazing Bubble Man and his ever-surprising sidekick, Jet Black Pearl.

This year’s Festival of Illusions, beginning on Friday, March 19, is sponsored by Surftides Lincoln City, Oregon Coast TODAY and cultural center members.

Safety features for the in-person performances include auditorium seating at 50-percent capacity, performers distanced from the first row, limited on-stage volunteering and all doors open during intermission. The wearing of masks or facial coverings will be required for all patrons. There will be no sale of concessions at this year’s festival.

“We’ll be seating couples and family groups together, and allowing for ample space around each pod, which will allow us to seat between 75 and 100 people per show,” said center director Niki Price. “We’ve also built the schedule with some flexibility, so if we sell out a performance, we can add another show with the same act. So, if you see ‘sold out’ on the online service, don’t despair.”

The annual Festival of Illusions was the first big event that the cultural center was forced to cancel at the beginning of the statewide shutdown back in March 2020. Those shows were rescheduled for 2021, and though not all the performers who were booked for 2020 can come to Lincoln City in 2021, all existing tickets will be honored or refunded. For more information, call Niki or Judy at 541-994-9994.

A family favorite of the festival over the years, the Abracadabra Open Art Space where kids were guided through fun art projects, will not be happening this year. But with a little presto-chango, Krista Eddy and the Creative Quarantine volunteers are making it possible for parents, grandparents and family friends to get special magic trick art kits for families to take home and enjoy. They are planning three different tricks: “Walk Through a Piece of Paper,” “Magically Appearing Color Drawing” and a surprise that has yet to be revealed. They will be available for pickup along with several other imaginative choices from the Creative Quarantine inventory.

The Creative Quarantine art kit project has given out 5,500 kits since launching in March 2020, supported by donations of both supplies and funds from community members and by the Oregon Community Foundation. In addition to art supplies and projects available at the center, Eddy also provides instructional videos online and full-page project sheets published regularly in the Oregon Coast TODAY.

Like the rest of Creative Quarantine art packets, these Festival of Illusions activities will be offered by donation, to anyone who wants them, while supplies last. They will be available in the self-serve shop starting on Friday, March 19. The shop will be open from 10 am to 4 pm, Thursday through Sunday, half an hour before all in-person magic shows and by appointment. To schedule an appointment, call the cultural center at 541-994-9994.

During Spring break, the center will also offer three art exhibits to see and enjoy, free and appropriate for all ages:

● The Taft 7-12 Student Art Show — Self-portraits, clocks and other small projects by local high school students, on display in the Chessman Gallery.

● Art Quilts by Ronda Stitz — Colorful and fanciful expressions, on display in the Hallway Gallery.

● Handwovens by Linda Borntrager — Coats, shawls, vests and other art wearables, in the Fiber Arts Studio Gallery. The gallery also features hands-on displays of looms, wheels and other textile art equipment.

The Lincoln City Cultural Center is located inside the historic Delake School at the corner of NE 6th Street and Hwy. 101, just a few blocks north of the D River Wayside, and will be open from 10 am to 4 pm Thursday through Sunday, as well as 30 minutes prior to each in-person performance. The building is handicapped accessible. For tickets or more information, go to www.lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call 541-994-9994.