Fire tossing mom

When walking past the topiary at the Alaska State Fairgrounds, it's easy to miss the short, gray-haired woman sitting beside the juggling equipment. But when Mary Evanoff starts throwing around flames while balancing on a pole, it does not take long to appreciate her talent.

Evanoff is performing at the Alaska State Fair through Labor Day. Her variety show culminates with a performance on the Evanoff pole -- she invented it -- in which she balances on the pole while juggling clubs lit on fire.

"That was awesome," said 13-year-old Bryant Rigby after a performance Sunday night. "I can't believe she can do that. Just juggling is hard, and balancing is hard."

Putting smiles on children's' and adults' faces is just part of the game for Evanoff. She got her start 22 years ago when she married into the business.

"I started walking tight ropes and balancing chairs with him in our variety show," Evanoff said. "Then we got divorced, but I stuck with it. I started juggling three balls and now I'm juggling fire on the Evanoff pole."

She is one of a handful of female variety acts in the world, and the only woman to do many of her tricks, including all of them on the Evanoff pole. She said many women see her as an inspiration.

"I'm gray-haired, I'm 51," she said before a Sunday performance. "A lot of times people are amazed I'm still doing it. They think, 'if she's 51 and doing that, I should be doing something too.'"

Being a variety performer can be a tough businesses. While there aren't many acts out there, getting gigs can sometimes be tough, Evanoff said.

"Being a woman in a man's field is difficult," Evanoff said. "There are very few female solo acts, but nobody's doing what I do. It's not competitive from that standpoint. And there's nobody doing what I do who is coming into the business either."

One of the hardest parts of Evanoff's act isn't juggling the fire or balancing on a stick supported by two volunteers. It's the travel and the schedule.

"I think I've had three weekends off this summer," Evanoff, a Bay Area resident, said. "I used to travel all over the world all year, but since Sept. 11, I've stuck mostly to America. With all of the anti-American sentiment, I just stay in the country."

She has performed at a number of international festivals before, including stops in Australia, Japan, Russia, Italy and all over Canada. She has appeared on Good Morning America and has done commercials for Pepsi and Reebok.

While she's comfortable with the notoriety, she is most at ease by just putting a smile on people's faces and performing at fairs and various festivals.

"The crowd reaction is so important," Evanoff said. "Usually, kids enjoy the fire the most."

Evanoff has a 15-year-old daughter, also named Mary, who normally is part of the Merrie Mary Show. Because school has already started in the Bay Area, her daughter was not able to come to Alaska and perform.

After performing at the Kenai fair a few weeks ago and now the Alaska State Fair, Evanoff is considering bringing her daughter back to Alaska for an Alaska tour, she said.

Evanoff figures she'll be doing her variety act "until I'm 60ish, because what else will I do?" Evanoff said. "As long as I can keep doing it safely, I'll do it."

Evanoff isn't getting paid by the Alaska State Fair, instead, she relies on people putting money in her hat. She's hoping that money can be used so her daughter doesn't have to travel the world, following in her footsteps.

"I don't push her to do what I do, but she enjoys it," Evanoff said. "She'll be going to college soon, and she probably won't be out here doing what I'm doing."

Evanoff's act can be caught several times daily near the topiary outside Raven Hall on the Alaska State Fairgrounds. Her performances are free, but throwing a couple bucks in her hat is suggested.

"That's my daughter's college fund," she tells the audience.