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Music, Performance & Film

Charm City Burlesque & Variety Festival

September 29, 2023 - October 1, 2023 in the The Theater

Charm City Burlesque Festival 2023

The first annual Charm City Burlesque and Variety Festival (CCBVF) runs Friday, September 29 through Sunday, October 1 at Baltimore’s Creative Alliance, home to some of Baltimore’s first burlesque and variety shows.

Burlesque is many things. It is sexy. It is sly. It is seductive. It shines a light on the morals and foibles of modern life and mocks them openly. In Baltimore, burlesque is all of those things, and it is also unabashedly weird, strange, dark, funny, and a little bit twisted. Baltimore’s burlesque and variety stages have always welcomed the different and the avant-garde. Baltimore marvels in the filthy, the strange, the strangely beautiful, and the sometimes questionable, and it makes it its own. The CCBVF celebrates all.

Performances:
FRI SEP 29 | 8PM | Filthy Gorgeous Variety
SAT SEP 30 | 8PM | The Tell-Tale Masquerade
SUN OCT 1 | 12PM | Drag Story Time | Free!
SUN OCT 1 | 2PM | Drag Me To The Stage

See full lineups below! All performances showcase our DMV burlesque & variety community!

FRI SEP 29 | 8PM | Filthy Gorgeous Variety

The festival kicks off with a celebration of the weird and twisted side of Baltimore area’s burlesque and variety scene. Expect to be both titillated and uncomfortable at the same time,in the most delicious way possible.

Hosted by: Maki Roll & Kittie Glitter
Featured performances by: Essential Tease Core Instructor: Ruby Rockafella; Twisted Knickers Burlesque Producer: Tapitha Kix, Mab Just Mab, Paolo Garbanzo, Onca O’Leary, Les S. Moor
With: Foxy Minx, Ruby Spruce, Vivienne Nuit, Poppy la Fae, Bearcat Betty, Curly Bright, Mary Muse, Madonna Black, Fox Martin, Hot Todd Lincoln
Stage Kittens: Fiona Foxglove and Mourna Handful

SAT SEP 30 | 8PM | The Tell-Tale Masquerade

Masquerade with us through the eerie ambiance on Saturday night. Don your finest attire and join the sinister mischief makers and the dreamers as we take you on a journey into all that is dark and whimsy. Let us entice you and titillate your senses with bewitching acts of burlesque, belly dance, sideshow, circus, and drag! Stick around after the show for a dance party with DJ Villainess as she spins dark beats and hypnotic rhythms.

Hosted by: Eden
Featured performances by: Producer of Art of the Belly: Naimah; Producer of Baltimore’s Best Burlesque Troupe-Gilded Lily Burlesque: Maria Bella; Miss Disa-Burly-Tease: Jacqueline Boxx; Baltimore’s Award-Winning pole performer: Crystal Black
With: Eva Mystique, Misty Wilde, Tempete La Coeur, Belladonna & Ken Vegas, Sally Stardust, London St. Juniper, Phaedra Phox, Scarlet Starlet, Sally Sinch, Caza Blanca, Valentina, Belladonna & The Nightshades
Stage Kittens: Valeria Voxx and Madonna Black

SUN OCT 1 | 12PM | Drag Story Time | FREE! ALL AGES!

Baltimore drag performer Hazel Dereon will read children’s stories while capturing your imagination and serving as glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models! Children get the opportunity to see people defy rigid gender roles and imagine a world where people can present as they wish. Come dressed up or come as you are! All are welcome!

SUN OCT 1 | 2PM | Drag Me To The Stage

Drag shows are some of the hottest-themed events to hit the LGBTQIA+ community. From an underground scene to a pop culture phenomenon, drag shows have had many faces. Featuring performances from the drag glitterati across the DMV area, it’ll be an occasion to remember filled with music and dance that’ll leave you feeling entertained and delighted.

Hosted by: Eden
Featured performances by: Gabrielle Remsen Ruby-Villaverde, Onyx D. Pearl, CandiFuentes, Lula Lioness, Hazel Dereon, Finn Gerhardt, Kit Valentine, Justin Thunderbum
Stage Kittens: Valeria Voxx and Maria Bella

Classes & Workshops (Tickets Sold Separately)

Saturday, September 30

10AM JACQUELINE BOXX: PIN-UP POSING FOR ALL BODIES

3PM CRYSTAL BLACK: LIQUID MOTION®

The CCBVF runs Sept. 29 – Oct. 1 and is produced by performers Maria Bella, Tapitha Kix, and Bella La Blanc. The three-day event will include performances, classes, lectures, and panels celebrating the history, art, and people of Baltimore’s wonderful, weird, and diverse burlesque and variety performing arts.
The festival is inclusive, respectful, and cognizant of the people and places who have helped make Baltimore burlesque and variety what it is today – this especially includes the voices of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ performers, vendors, and partners who have been an important part in both the planning and execution of all events associated with the festival. The CCBVF includes a committee that provides a forum for committed burlesque & variety community members to advise, inform, and offer critique to the festival.
Ticket Types
Weekend Pass
  • Early Bird $85
  • Members Early Bird $80
  • Full Price $100
  • Members Full Price $90
  • Festival Supporter $250
Performance General Admission
  • Early Bird $30
  • Members Early Bird $27
  • Full Price $35
  • Members Full Price $32
Performance Virtual Tickets
  • Virtual Streaming $10
Classes & Workshops
  • Full Price $25
  • Members $22
Accessibility
Live ASL interpretation.
Gender neutral and ADA accessible bathrooms.
The venue is wheelchair accessible (entrance is street level and there is a small ramp to the theater).

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