Clown Town #86

This portrait is an excerpt from the photographic archives of beloved photographer Slate Vernick. From 2082-2084, Slate photographed the residents of Canaryville, a coastal community known to outsiders as "Clown Town." For almost two decades, the citizens of Canaryville had widely embraced the practice of dressing up as clowns each day. What started as a unifying form of anti-war protest became a nearly religious cultural tradition and aspect of town identity. The devoted continuation of the practice had long puzzled—and frightened—visitors who would stop for lunch or ice cream before setting their back to "Clown Town" forever. Built largely in the 1950s-1960s as an affordable tourist resor...View all