What is ABSFest?
ABSFest?
The Asheville Burlesque & Sideshow Festival is now in our 16th year! Over five thousand people have reveled in our weekend-long extravaganzas as we Keep Asheville Weird with epic stage shows, afterparties, workshops and free community lectures and panels.
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 the UK, Germany, and Japan. In a world now brimming with Burlesque Festivals, from Vegas to Amsterdam, ABSFest is known for nurturing creativity, community, and empowerment.
Applications
We are always seeking a blend of burlesque and variety arts with a focus on the witty, empowered and political, as expressed through diverse bodies, skin tones, and gender identities.
Our application deadline for ABSFest is February 1, 2024.
Performer Application
Looking for artists for our shows: the Friday Speakeasy, the Saturday Spectacular, and the Burlesque Brunch!
Vendor Application
The Saturday Spectacular usually brings in 400 patrons, and a handful of lovingly chosen vendors like you.2025 Events
Whether you want tickets to the shows, or to sign up for workshops, you're in the right place!2025 Show Schedule & Tickets
Thursday, May 22Friday, May 23
Saturday, May 24
Sunday, May 25
2025 Workshops
ABSFest is proud to offer burlesque, circus, & business workshops. Open to all levels!FAQ
ABSFest is a multi-day Burlesque & Sideshow festival held in Asheville, NC. The event offers performance, networking, vending and workshops for both the public and artists.
ABSFest hires national and international headliners to lead the festival each year, and selects other acts from the pool of Performer Applications. We strive to unite many Vaudeville Revival Arts under one marquee, allowing performers to connect, collaborate and inspire.
We are firmly committed to the uplifting power of education, and the workshops are priced for accessibility. Teaching artists get 70% of class profits, and all performers are encouraged to attend a class: support the artists, learn something new, and help create a culture of professionalism, constructive critique and valued information-sharing. In addition, we offer a FREE class or panel every year on a subject of interest or relevance to the community.
Visit the festival website, fill out the Performer Application, send your press-ready pictures, and pay the application fee. We weigh all the applications with a mind to creating the most balanced programming possible. We want burlesque, drag, circus arts, puppetry & sideshow. Consider bringing your most polished pieces to share. There are no more than 10 spots in the festival this year, so bring us your strongest, most developed piece: preference is given to under-represented groups such as POC, transfolk, etcetera. If your act is accepted and you choose to confirm, please be prepared to submit your music and tech specs promptly.
Please note that application fees are non-refundable. All festival applicants receive a free show ticket!
Staff, Tech and Acts get paid a stipend of $100 or more for the weekend, a Complimentary ticket to one of the many shows over the weekend, and festival Teachers keep 70% of their workshop revenues.
Every year we strive to pay more people, because it takes a village to build this incredible festival.
ABSFest honors one person per year onstage with an Artist Recognition Award for valiant work in the arts. In 2011, the award was renamed the Phil Slomski Artist Recognition Award, in memory of that fine artist and human.
