Lookout!

Soapboxes, Trapezes and a Cabaret

By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Because swinging from trapezes and contorting their bodies in ways that make audiences wonder whether they have actual bones in their bodies isn’t quite thrilling enough, the folks at the Dream Science Circus will up the entertainment ante this weekend with the second annual Lookout Arts Center Offroad Soapbox Derby.

Dream Science cofounder Islando explains that the event at the Arts Center, which is located about 10 minutes outside of Bellingham on Old Highway 99, is a way to showcase the unfinished acreage without having to stress too much about having the venue perfectly prepared.

The stage that will house entertainment from the likes of the Dream Science folks themselves—as well as members of the Bellingham Circus Guild, Sugar Sugar Sugar, Hayfa, the Dirty Bird Cabaret, DJ Velveteen, and others—will be on an old truck bed and a flatbed trailer. For the soapbox derby part of the festivities, the course will be rough and the action will be augmented by obstacle courses. (Participants only have until Thursday to enter their “contraptions,” but those already planning on being at the event are encouraged to rubberneck and holler encouragement from the sidelines.)

What with all the fun happening throughout the day, those who make their way to the Lookout on Saturday should also be aware they’ll be doing more than providing hands to clap with. Donations made at the outdoor party will go toward finalizing the visions of those who live, perform and work on the land.

“The site is still relatively primitive and is still in the midst of a long, involved process of turning a previously industrial site into an artistic oasis of sorts,” Islando, who’s been at the helm of the five-year-old Dream Science Circus with cofounder Ukoiya, explains. “There’s been lots of rock moving and garbage removal so far. Our infrastructure goals are to landscape areas for people to comfortably exist, put a stage to accent the natural amphitheater on site, plant gardens, create facilities to house the folks who live here and facilitate creative endeavors for artists.”

Including Islando, four other full-timers live on the land. They’re putting the concept of “building from the ground up” into action, and hope that as the center continues to grow, so too will the amount of performers bringing their skills to the table.

“Venues run by artists are a rare thing in the world,” Islando notes. “There is infinite value in a space big enough to handle lots of people and set in place specifically to nurture artists in an environment that facilitates the creation of art. It’s all a bit rough on the edges right now, but the vision here is coming along quite nicely, in my opinion.”

While you’re at the Lookout Arts Center, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the space while you’re interacting with Blinky, (a crusty vaudevillian clown), taking part in creative carnival games, enjoying the derby action or watching selections from the Dream Science Circus’s upcoming full-length production, which is set to debut in late winter or early spring. Who knows—you, too, could someday be part of the artistic oasis.