Magic Mirrors & Round Walls

Intentional vessels for delight & my yurt heart.

I’ve walked through a flat facade painted with flying victorian circus acrobats, dapper gents, art nouveau flowers that noodle around the edges. Over and over, the glowing lights on this 2 dimensional marquee only tease at what lies just beyond its polished wood portals.

A rounded, velvet draped, cavern of mirrors and stained glass and gold fringe, and pie shaped parquet floors and music. I feel like I’ve walked into the interior of my own heart.

These wondrous places are called Spiegeltents. The Dutch for “mirrored tent” and they snap together like the dreamiest house of cards/blanket fort of the 19th century. They were built specifically to answer the call of villages without dance halls - so they toured. And they were round. ROUND?! A friend who lived in tents and earthships for years believes that our brains really do change when we are not held hostage with right angles. I think this must be true. The simple magick of intentional vessel design.

They are grand and full of vibrant life even 100 years after they were originally built, delightfully titled with “Wonderland” and “Magic Mirror” in their titles. Imagine all those parties and cèiliedhs and cabarets and circus spectacles that have been held inside along with 250 guests and a band that won’t quit. There are only a handful left in the world and they a CONSTANTLY on tour. They are the boxcar equivalent of the galmourhobo perhaps. Always moving, always working.

So. Yurts? “She mentioned yurts…” Yes I did and here is where we constellate.

I am currently at the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland. The festival I first experienced a spiegeltent and its adorable offshoot the Magical Spiegelyurt.

Tucked into a pedestrian walkway next to a double decker bus turned bar & venue (because the laws of geometry are squishy here) this fun sized circular venue to the up and coming charmed the absolute pants off me.

I wanted one so bad. I wanted to do a show in one SO. BAD.

Years later, I did.

After many years of forking connections, moves, divorces, tours, and love affairs I found my yurt baby-daddy, Aube Porr. A fabricator and artist also transplanted to RVA in the last few years, we got along like a house on fire. He’d always wanted to build a yurt and I always want to create spectacles with friends. We dreamt of a space that could easily pop up and tour. That would be small enough to be carried in my Honda Fit. Oriental rugs on the floor and lanterns and glowing stalactites hanging from above. Solar power to let it shine off-grid at festivals, and playatech seating to allow it to pack flat. Indoor/outdoor no need for stacks or guylines. We wanted a welcoming and singular space to make something happen in RVA - a city with venues blipping in and out like fireflies in August. It was to be our case study for even more ambitious builds. We started from just this yearning in 2023 and now…

…we co-parent this micro venue, 16’ wide, which can fit up to 11 hearts within. What a magical number. We’ve done 1-1 shows at the Richmond Fringe, turned public radio basements into glowing caverns, and sheltered revelers as a Sanctuary space at burns.
Powered by our grit, our circle (theres that shape again…) of talented art friends and some grant money from Culture Works, she lives! We were aiming for a 30’ space (like the one I stumbled on) but MAN did we learn that wasn’t viable for our first effort… Humility is such a valuable and sharp tool in the artbox.

Below, you will see our art baby grow through its many phases and into its current incarnation. Aube is the heart, hands, and mind behind the building it from scratch while I got us the money, managed the squishy pretty guts, and now steward it as a touring, rentable space for all occasions.

I am honored to introduce you all to, The Luminous Spiegeltent!

May all your mirrors be magic and your vessels for time and space intentionally made.