Here are pictures from KM on April 13th. It was a lucky day, despite the rain!
If you don't see a circus listed that you want to know about, leave me a note in the comment section and I'll see what I can do. I'm focusing on Mudshows at the moment, but there is more info that I can share if you want it.
Kelly Miller
Redfield, AR Mar 31
Heber Springs, AR Apr 1
Ash Flat, AR Apr 2
Mt. Home, AR Apr 3-4
Ava, MO Apr 5
Houston, MO Apr 6
Potoso, MO Apr 9
Ironton, MO Apr 10
Cole Brothers
Ft. Mill, SC Mar 31
Wilmington, NC Apr 2-5
Havelock, NC Apr 6-7
Dudley, NC Apr 8-9
Greenville, NC Apr 10-11
Myrtle Beach, SC Apr 12-15
Carson and Barnes
Alamagordo, TX Apr 6
Phoenix, AZ Apr 10-12
Route as I have found them:
Cole Brothers
Palm Coast FL March 23-24
Brunswick, GA Mar 25-26
Ladson, SC Mar 27-28
Wilmington NC April 2-5
Circus Vargus
Ontario CA now through Mar 19-30
Chino CA Apr 2-13
Hamid Circus
Harrisburg PA Mar 25-28
Wilkes-Barre Apr 13-18
Royal Hanneford
St. Charles MO Mar 25-29
Miami FL Mar 26-Apr 12
Kelly Miller
Bridgeport TX Mar 23
Royse City TX Mar 24
Athens TX Mar 25
Van TX Mar 26
Commerce TX 27
Hugo OK Mar 28
Idabel OK Mar 29
Murfreesboro AR Mar 30
Redfield AR Mar 31
Heber Springs AR Apr 1
Ash Flat AR Apr 2
Carson & Barnes
Irving TX Mar 23-24
Richardson TX Mar 25-26
Garland TX Mar 27-29
Bowie TX Mar 30
Brownwood TX Apr 1
Weatherford TX Apr 2
Allen TX Apr 3-5
I had the amazing privilege and honor to shake this man's hand one time. It was at a performance of the Zoppe Family Circus at a local fair, sitting in the back with his lovely wife, watching his children perform in the family circus.
After the show, when I was talking to several of the performers, I was introduced to him, I was introduced to him.
To say he was a legend is an understatement. Father Zoppe ranks up there with the likes of the Wallendas. He was probably the greatest bareback rider that ever lived and worked in a circus. He appeared in at least one movie, and performed his entire life.
I have posted the PDF of Alberto's Eulogy, written by his lovely wife Sandy. You can see it here.
I hope to bring you this information every two weeks. I will include what I find out, which is difficult because most circuses won't share their route cards. Most mud shows are just now getting underway, although some have already been out for a few weeks (Kelly Miller has been out for more than three at this point).
Ringling Red
Newark NJ Mar 5-8
E. Rutherford NJ Mar 11-15
Uniondale, NY Mar 18-22
Ringling Blue
Cincinnati, OH Mar 4-8
Columbus, SC Mar 12-15
Washington DC Mar 18-22
Ringling Gold
Puerto Rico Mar 4-15
Big Apple
Atlanta GA through Mar 7
Bridgewater, NH Mar 14-29
Shrine
Green Bay, WI Mar 6-8
Hamburg, NY Mar 19-22
Toledo, OH Mar 19-22
UniverSOUL
Atlanta GA through Mar 8
Raleigh, NC Mar 11-15
Richmond, VA Mar 18-22
Cole Bros.
Deland Fl through Mar 15
Circus Vargas
Del Mar CA Mar 5-9
Hamid
Hamburg PA Mar 12-15
Harrisburg PA Mar 25-28
Royal Hanneford
St. Joseph MO Mar 6-8
Columbus OH Mar 19-22
Because I have a soft spot for causes related to disability (I work with disabled persons in my day job), whenever I run across an article with this kind of feel-good to it, I can't help but share.
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- An enormous Asian elephant stepped out from behind a big red curtain at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Atlanta, Georgia.
Eli Hummer, 3, gets to try out an oversized motorbike at the circus.
An audience of 20 pre-schoolers clapped and squealed as the elephant was handed a tiny harmonica and started playing.
But, instead of sitting far away in the stands, the children, all visually impaired, were just a few feet away from the action.
Among them was 3-year-old Eli Hummer.
"He doesn't see, so to learn about it, he has to touch it and be close to it," explained his mother, Martha Hummer.
She said being able to use the sense of smell, touch and sound helps her son understand the concept of a circus. More...
That just sounds incredibly dirty, doesn't it?
Steve Copeland and Ryan Combs are the clowns working for the Kelly Miller Circus this year. I had the pleasure of seeing Steve perform with Neal Skoy at the 40th Clown College Reunion in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in September 2008. They did the funniest Karate bit I've seen in a long time. I have nothing but respect for Steve's clowning. I have not had the pleasure of seeing Ryan perform, but I'm sure he's a class act all the way.
A bunch of us with ties to the circus community are excited to see such clowns getting a whole season's work. It is a huge change going from Big Bertha (Ringling) to a mud show, but each type of circus has its own value, and its own rewards.
Fortunately for all of us, Steve Copeland is a prolific blogger. He has started a blog just for his and Ryan's adventures with Kelly Miller. He blogs almost daily, and shares some pretty great background stuff on living on the circus. It's still the first week, but I'm enjoying it immensely. And in some cases, the comments to his posts are more entertaining and informative than the posts themselves!
I hope you'll go over and check it out.
Kelly Miller Circus, now in its second year of ownership by John Ringling North II, has embarked on its 2009 season. Their early start caught me off-guard, as they normally don't start touring until late March. It turns out that the early start of Kelly Miller had everything to do with the death of Circus Chimera.
After the cancellation of their 2008 season due to changes in the visa rules for temporary workers, they were apparently unable to recover, and are now no more. This saddens me, and many circus fans, around the country. Circus Chimera was a premier show, traveling with an international cast of both human and animal acts. Their tours were primarily centered in the west, spending much of their time in California. Their winter quarters, like many a mud show over the years, was in Hugo, Oklahoma.
So what does Chimera have to do with Kelly Miller? KM was able to purchase the tour dates that Chimera still held, allowing them to start more than a month early on their tour. Word has it that their first three days of shows have been more than sellouts, forcing Kelly Miller to add shows where possible.
This bodes well for mud shows this year, despite the loss of a major provider of shows. With the economy in the tank, luxuries are the first to go. While smaller towns are suffering as much as larger cities from the economic situation we are facing, there is still the need for fun, and circus fulfills that. I am hopeful that the rest of the season will be as wonderful for them, and for all of the mudshows that are out there traveling in these tough times.
If nothing else, most of the circuses will be thankful for the greatly reduced gas prices this year. Most traveling circuses were paying over $4 a gallon for gas; it's now half that or less. And when profits can increase for traveling shows, it is insurance for their future survival.
Kelly Miller was near my big city a couple of years ago, in late September, near the end of their season. I'm hoping this is my lucky year again. I'd love the opportunity to do my economic duty and support traveling circus.
I've been woefully neglectful of this blog of late. Several recent emails reminded me that I have an important resource going here, and I need to maintain it. So, with that in mind, I'm going to jump back into regular updates of this blog, which means at least one post a week.
I hope to bring new links in to circus blogs, publish tour dates as I get them, and talk about shows old and new. There are some terrific circus bloggers in the space, but there's always room for one more.
If you've been waiting for me to get back to business, I apologize for letting you down. If you're just finding me after doing a search for information, then welcome.
Onward and upward!
Circus Flora returns for its 36th season with a new show and attractions. “Medrano” opens June 5 and runs through June 21 at the Grand Center big top. “Medrano” takes place in 19th century Paris, a world populated by artists, writers, musicians, political exiles, Russian spies, Gypsies and diplomats. This year, Circus Flora will produce a peanut-free preview June 4, add a Friday matinee and host a barbeque June 14. Tickets cost $8 to $36 and will go on sale soon through Metrotix. For additional show and cast information, visit www.circusflora.org.
September 18-21 I attended the 40th Clown College Reunion with my husband. I did not attend all of the events, or I'd have been driven nuts with clown gags, but I attended the benefit show, the archives tour, and the roast and banquet for Barry Lubin. I got to meet a handful of my husband's classmates from the Class of '88. And I got to meet some really classy clowns as well.
But the highlight of my weekend was getting to meet Robin Eurich, most recently of the Bozo Show. He was Rusty the Clown, sidekick to Bozo. When the show was canceled, I was sorely disappointed, as Rusty the Clown was pretty much my favorite clown. One of my favorite things about him is his "A.D.D."-type movements. His feet are always moving, he is always moving, and I'm sure the Bozo show cameramen had a lot of fun trying to figure out where he was going to stand all the time.
He was so personable, and we had some interesting conversations. Turns out the Rusty character is his, he gets to keep it and can perform as Rusty whenever and wherever he wants. And that is the character he played in the benefit show during the reunion. I was really excited to meet him in person, and even more excited to find out he's such a nice guy.
And of course, I got pictures! I also took a lot of other pictures, which you can see on my FLICKr pages.
Hubby and I will be headed to Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in a couple weeks for the 40th RBBB Clown College Reunion. The last one was about 10 years ago, in Las Vegas. Several hundred Ringling-trained clowns will gather to spend four days talking and talking and talking shop.
I will be avoiding them except for the Keynote, the group breakfast, and the charity performance. I love my husband and his Klowny ways, but 300 of those guys in the same room talking shop and commiserating over their antics in alleys all over the world...it's just more than I can take.
It just isn't my thing, although it breaks Hubby's heart to think I'm not as into clowns as he'd like. The truth is, I'm interested in Circus, the whole thing, not just one aspect.
And I am excited about heading up to Baraboo, even though it looks like we have to take the girls with us since my mother has finked out on staying at the house with them. Why? Because Baraboo is a great place, full of circus haunts and history, AND because the clown reunion attendees are getting a personal tour of the archival library at Circus World Museum. I've been trying to get in there for two years!
So, it's a great research opportunity for me, as well as visiting a place that I truly adore. It's going to be a great weekend.
I have declared myself fully recovered from my urgent surgery in June. My doctor declared me "recovered" three weeks after my surgery, but until the last week or so, I didn't feel recovered. I'm happy to say my energy is back and my creative juices are flowing. It doesn't hurt any that fall is here and that I usually get my biggest inspirations in the fall.
I've been keeping up with circus by reading Ben Trumble's blog every few days, and reading a new picto-blog called The Balloon Man. Similar to Buckles Blog, it has some great stories and pictures from old circus and sideshow.
Touring circus season will be coming to a close shortly. Now that the kids are back in school and Labor Day weekend is underway, circuses can't bring in the people like they can in summer. I know we are considering emptying the pool this weekend, even though the weather is still warm, because no one is swimming in it anyway. It's just that time of year. All of the little mud shows will be returning to their homes, many in Hugo, Oklahoma, and the performers dispersing to their winter quarters, wherever they may be.
As fall approaches for me, it means I need to get back to work writing. Without a Net needs a complete rewrite at this point, which I've started but not gone very far on. November is coming, which means a new novel should be in the works, but not having finished the one from two years ago, I know it's time to buckle down and do something with one of my unfinished projects.
We'll see.
Due to the need for urgent surgery, I managed to miss out on seeing Circus Flora this year. I'm disappointed, but know that as sick as I was the last few weeks, I'd have missed more than I'd have enjoyed.
There's always next year. I'm bummed, but I'll live.
Well, what a joke this show is. Within the first three weeks it's devolved into a contest to see who can be the snarkiest performer. The judges are pretty brutal, which they should be. Circus arts is not an easy thing, even for skilled and experienced performers.
These are celebrities trying to pretend they are circus stars, and it looks just about as ridiculous as you'd expect. Not a one of them has the fluid, relaxed look of circus performers; to say they look like wooden dolls is an understatement.
But honestly, the show would be great to watch if they'd all just shut their mouths and stop smarting off to the judges, and acting like big-headed wrestling stars when they talk about their competition.
As my daughter would say, "It's redonculous."
We are all impressed by different tricks. For me, it's anything done with the hands, especially closeup magic and more recently, contact juggling. I gave my husband a training contact ball and video for Christmas in hopes that he would want to learn it. It is absolutely amazing to watch.
I'm embedding a video of a street (park) performer doing some of the most amazing tricks with a contact juggling ball that I've ever seen. He is really, really good.
I can't believe Circus Flora has been open for a week and I have yet to see a show. I didn't even get to watch the tent raising or interview the performers. The timing was just off this year, as I was getting ready for another major event and also dealing with some health issues of my own while dealing with some of my older parents' issues as well.
But, my hubby and I will get down to see Flora before it leaves. I hope I'll get to go twice, but I'll just have to see how things go. Tater, of course, will have to come with us, I can't go see Flora without her!
The show's theme this year is Sherwood Forest. I am looking forward to seeing it!
I've been following the adventures of Ben Trumble, sometime Patch and circus worker, who I discovered last year was keeping a great online diary about mudshows. Last year he was traveling with Carson and Barnes, one of the classier of the mud shows, and I very much enjoyed his "inside information" as he went along.
This year, he joined Culpepper Merriweather, a bit of a rag-tag operation that somehow manages to tour every year. My husband toured with them several years ago and left that circus under less-than-ideal circumstances. I've seen CM's shows, and all I can really say without being too insulting about it is that the show is seedy. Their tents, trucks, and some of their workers just show so much wear and dis-repair that it is difficult to let the magic take over. It is sad to see a circus traveling that way, not only because the audience deserves better, but because the performers and workers to, too.
But Ben must be brave, he went out with C&M, and made a good try of it. He was driving the truck that hauled the seat wagon, as well as pitching in elsewhere as needed. A third of the way through the season, he left C&M and went home. He has not shared a lot of details publicly, but reading between the lines gives one the assumption that things were not all roses and butterflies on C&M, and there were creative differences that made it impossible for Ben to remain with the show.
A few weeks later, and Ben has found his way to another circus, one of my personal favorites. He is now traveling with Kelly Miller, a show owned by John Ringling North. KM is one of my personal favorite mudshows; their equipment looks pristine, their tent is immaculate, and they have some of the prettiest Asian elephants I've seen. I'm looking forward to hearing more from Ben in the future. You can read Ben's travels at A Mudshow Season.
Last week in the news was a short blurb about elephants escaping from a traveling circus in Kansas. My hubby and I looked at the pictures of the two elephants and said, "Hey, we know those elephants!"
Turns out it was Congo and Kamba, owned by Doug Terranova and on tour with the Culpepper and Merriweather Great Combine Circus. There was no film footage, as this was a tiny little town. It barely got a mention in the paper, and the only pictures were from a homeowner who went outside to find them in her yard.
According to the report, one elephant was coaxed back onto the truck, the other had to be tranquilized before she would cooperate. And I know which is which...Kamba is a sweetheart and would follow anyone with a bag of apples to share. Congo is a mean old girl and does nothing she doesn't want to do.
Hubby and I had a great laugh over the incident. I'm sure for the residents of the tiny little town, finding elephants in the back yard grazing on your begonias would be quite shocking. It reminds me of some of the stories I heard when doing research for Without A Net, and how the circus patch often had to pay out to a homeowner or farmer when a bull got loose and trashed a field or flower garden.
The truth is, they are relatively harmless. As long as there is something to eat, they can be easily distracted and taken back to where they belong.
