Gnomecoming, Bellingham’s premier mushroom-themed circus dance party, is back this weekend
Bellingham’s premier mushroom-themed circus and dance party is back for its second year.
Gnomecoming, hosted by the Bellingham Circus Guild and Cirque Cadia, is bringing three shows to Fairhaven this weekend. After last year’s inaugural show sold out, the event is expanding for its second run. There will be a pair of 21-and-older shows, one the night of Friday, Sept. 20 and the other at night on Saturday, Sept. 21, in addition to a Saturday afternoon family-friendly show.
What is Gnomecoming?
The event features an enchanted forest-themed circus show, complete with jugglers and aerial stunts, but there’s an interactive component as well. Attendees are encouraged to dress up as a gnome, mushroom or in a related costume, and there will be a trio of DJ sets giving participants a chance to dance along.
“Gnomecoming is your campy, corny but loveable high school dance, if it was thrown by enchanted forest creatures,” Natale Luma, the show’s producer, said in a phone call with the Bellingham Herald.
According to Luma, performers will interact with attendees throughout the night.
“There’s a dance floor, there’s a stage,” Luma said. “Throughout the night, when it’s just purely dance party moments, the characters — the mushroom gnomes, the fairies, the trees, even Sasquatch — will be out on the floor interacting with people. Then during certain parts of the night there will be stage sets where you’ll get a handful of circus performances. And it will all be hosted by your party planners for the night, the mushroom gnomes.”
Luma said she’d had the idea for the show for years before the Circus Guild finally made it a reality in 2023.
“I was working at a music festival that I used to produce the performances for,” Luma said. “I had the mushroom gnomes, who were my first characters. I had my assistant, I was like, ‘Hey, can you put together some cute little thing from the forest with leaves and wildflowers for the mushroom gnomes to hand out to people?’”
Her assistant obliged, sparking the idea that would become Gnomecoming.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, these are so cute. They look like little boutonnieres that you would have at a dance.’ Then I was like, ‘Oh, we should have the mushrooms go and ask people if they want to go to gnome-coming with them.’”
After she got involved with the Bellingham Circus Guild, Luma decided it would be the perfect place to host the event. While she acknowledged that the format is unconventional, Luma said that last year’s shows received a warm reception.
“People were so into it,” Luma said. “I think that people got it as much as they could, without understanding what the actual format was going to be.”
How to get Gnomecoming tickets
All three Gnomecoming shows will take place at the Bellingham Circus Guild, located at 1401 6th Street. Tickets range from $25 to $45 for the 21-and-up shows, although $25 tickets are currently sold out. Adult tickets to the all-ages show also cost $25, while kids can get in for $20. Tickets can be purchased on the event’s webpage.
Both night shows run from 8 to 11:45 p.m., while the Saturday afternoon show runs from 3 to 5 p.m.
This story was originally published September 19, 2024 at 5:00 AM.