Oregon Coast TODAY **Dubbed “The American Mystifier,” Taylor Kyle will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, March 29 at the Festival of Illusions at the Lincoln City Cultural Center.**

By Oregon Coast TODAY

Oregon’s spring break next week will be a whip-cracking, art-making, balloon-twisting, mesmerizing and appetizing good time at the beach, thanks to the 2024 Festival of Illusions at the Lincoln City Cultural Center.

The family-friendly, weatherproof festival will offer magic, art, ventriloquism, juggling, circus tricks and more, with daytime and evening events for every budget through Saturday, March 30.

The Festival of Illusions was founded in 2011 to provide affordable family entertainment during Oregon’s spring break.

The annual beach vacation tradition is sponsored by Amy Graham of Taylor & Taylor Realty Co, the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts and Surftides Hotel in Lincoln City. Reserved tickets are on sale now.

This year’s lineup features four festival debuts, including Canadian ventriloquist Michael Harrison (Tuesday, March 26) and the inspiring father-son duo of Lucky Luke and Levi Hammer (Sunday, March 24), and the return of favorites like Mz. Pearl’s Variety Show (Wednesday, March 27) and Alex Zerbe the Zaniac (Thursday, March 28). Each evening show will be different from the last.

There will be plenty to do in the daytime, as well.

In addition to Krista Eddy’s famous Magic Art Studio, the Cultural Center will also host the Boredom Busting Balloon class and a My Petite Sweet Cookie Decorating Workshop. There will be a sale of “magic gear” and a Hogwarts Lego Castle on display, and a visit from the Oregon Coast Art Bus. The Shaky Grounds Cafe, a pop-up escape room about emergency preparedness, will be on site and open for business Saturday, March 23 through Tuesday, March 26.

Families can even take a little of the magic home: Themed Art Kits, made by a team of volunteers and the cultural center artistic director Krista Eddy, will be available while supplies last. Members of the public are invited to “shop” the art kit room, located next to Margaret’s Meeting Room, upstairs at the center. Art kits are by donation — pay what you can and enjoy crafting with the little ones in your life.

Visitors can also check out the new outdoor art installations of the Cultural Plaza. If the weather is nice, they can head out to give Pete Beeman’s abstract “Poppy” a push, read the new poem on the Poetry Path, or play a tune on the Harmony Notes instruments.

The center is also hosting a new exhibit, “Vivid Existence” by Riley Hoagland in the Chessman Gallery. It will be open during the special Festival of Illusions hours.

“It’s always exciting to welcome new talent and audiences to our annual spring break fun fest,” said cultural center executive director Niki Price. “I can’t wait to see Commander Salamander Super Circus Sideshow, The American Mystifier and Luke and Levi Hammer – and our first ventriloquist in 12 years of Festival of Illusions, Michael Harrison. But I also love to see favorites like Heather Pearl, Alex Zerbe and Leapin’ Louie, back to entertain our audiences once again!”

The Lincoln City Cultural Center is located at 540 N.E. Highway 101, Lincoln City. The Center’s galleries will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the festival week. For inquiries or ticketing, go to www.lincolncity-culturalcenter.org or call the office at 541-994-9994.