WELCOME TO SNAKE OIL FESTIVAL III (2017)

Dear Snake Oil Festival Fans, Performers and Supporters,

Over the last three years we have been both fortunate and blessed to have the honor of  presenting New Orleans’ premier festival dedicated to showcasing the variety arts. It has brought us great joy and a certain amount of pride to offer professionally produced shows featuring some of the top performers in the country to the beautiful people of the greatest city on earth. When we began this project we knew that it would be a lot of hard work and mostly a labor of love. That definitely turned out to be true, but it was so much fun and we met so many incredible people that we really didn’t mind all that effort. The joy of seeing these artists perform at their highest level and of witnessing the excitement on the faces of our audience was the highest form of pay we could ever hope to receive. 

It was all a blast. However, despite our great love for the Snake Oil Festival and our love for all those involved with making it a reality, we have to put Snake Oil on hold for the year of 2018. As stated above, the festival is a lot of work and a true labor of love, and both of us have begun focusing a lot of time on our careers outside of show business. This leaves little time to organize Snake Oil on the level that has become expected of us. This is not a decision we took lightly, but we have other goals that we needed to focus on meeting at this time.  

We realize that many of you were looking forward to attending the festival this year and many of you were looking forward to performing with us. We regret that we cannot spend this special time with you this year, but hey who knows, maybe one day we will bring back a more scaled down version of the festival that is a bit more manageable for a couple with full time jobs, a store and one ornery doggie. 

Many thanks to our original production partner, Ginger Licious, who helped us conceive this project and give birth to it. Much love to you! Also, thanks to Jian Bastille for all of the mind bending art work and videos that gave SOF such a professional shine in all of our media. Thank you to all of the volunteers who gave their time and energy. Thank you to the technical crew for keeping us sounding and looking good on stage. Thank you to our sponsors, Turtle Creek Coffee, Beauty Butler and Electra Cosmetics, MAGWIRE, TATOOAGOGO, Carl Mack, Bayou Queen Body Art (Aura Jane), New Orleans School of Burlesque, BellaviaMia Faux, James Taylor and “Shocked and Amazed”, WHIV, Photography at Large and everyone else for your financial support. These things don’t get made with out money and you gave it! Everybody, be sure to buy their stuff! And, thanks most of all to the performers who applied and performed who’s only payment was love of the stage and audience. There is no Snake Oil without you. Every performer on that stage gave it all. You deserve all of the success in the world in all that you do. WE LOVE YOU!

If anyone needs additional info regarding SOF, please feel free to email us at SnakeOilFestival@gmail.com.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to the SNAKE OIL FESTIVAL! The Snake Oil Festival is New Orleans' premier event dedicated to preserving the art and spirit of America's rich sideshow, burlesque and variety entertainment history. Join us this June 15th, 16th and 17th at the world famous Howlin’ Wolf for three nights of exciting shows and two days of interactive workshops featuring the world’s best in the variety business. Starring Headliners: Queen of the Quake - Kitten de Ville, Burlesque Legend - Val Valentine, The Pain Proof Princess - GoGo McGregor, The Renegade Showgirl - Angela Eve, New Orleans Comedian - Corey Mack, and dozens of performers from around the world!

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE!

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, purveyors of medicinal cure-alls known as snake oil salesman, crisscrossed the landscape of the United States hawking their sometimes dubious concoctions to a hungry and unsuspecting populace. In order to make sure that they always had an audience for their elaborate and entertaining sales pitches, the snake oil salesman would employ a vast array of entertainers to draw in and enthrall the locals. These entertainers were experts in the arts of circus, sideshow, music, singing, comedy and dancing, and often featured oddities and curios. The traveling medicine shows ranged from large to small, with some pulled in just a few carts by a team of horses to full scale productions that could only fit in semi-trucks. No matter what their size, the traveling medicine shows were always the most fun and unique productions to be featured in small and rural communities. In the last two decades America has seen a resurgence of the type of entertainment featured in the snake oil shows. We are honored to be a part of that revival and to be able to present to you some of the most talented and acclaimed performers working in these fields today. Live entertainment has always been a force that unifies communities and connects all of us to one another. Through performances, workshops and networking opportunities, all set in the iconic cultural mecca that is New Orleans, the Snake Oil Festival seeks to create opportunities for artists and spectators alike to participate in a one of a kind, captivating and educational partnership, which helps the traditions of grassroots entertainment to thrive.

Snake Oil Festival 2016 Highlight Reel with Video and Remix by Jian Bastille (Live Video by Jerry McLaughlin, original music by ISIS GATE)

Snake Oil Festival III Official video and 2017 theme coming soon!