THE BALLOON MAN

Kelly Miller Circus set to entertain the Bridgeton area at Dutch Neck Village

The Kelly Miller Circus, including Mike Rice and The Silk Road Camels, is coming to Dutch Neck Village June 3
May 16, 2011
By Lauren T. Taniguchi/The News of Cumberland County South Jersey Newspapers HOPEWELL TWP. — Elephants and tigers and camels, oh my!
The Kelly Miller Circus is on its way back to Dutch Neck Village.
On Friday, June 3, clowns, animals, acrobats and other entertainers will wow the crowd with a show beginning at 4:30 p.m. and one at 7:30 p.m.
“What I like about it is, not only is it a fundraiser for all (the Bridgeton Breakfast Rotary Club’s) projects, but on top of that, it’s a service to the community, bringing very inexpensive, high-class entertainment and a family-friendly atmosphere,” said Bob Spence of the Bridgeton Breakfast Rotary Club.
A past club president suggested inviting the Kelly Miller Circus to town from Hugo, Okla., several years ago, and Spence said they have turned out to be “one of the best groups of people I have ever worked with, just very nice, helpful and a really professional show.”
Begun in 1938, the Kelly Miller Circus travels across the nation with its fleet of 25 vehicles. Its big top circus tent seats 1,500 guests to entertain under the direction of John Ringling North II, great-nephew of the famous Ringling Brothers, who grew up in the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
Special acts in the June 3 circus will include Casey McCoy’s talented white tigers, the Ogle sisters on trapeze and champion cowboy rope-spinning sensation Darrell “The Hawk” Hawkins. Guests will also enjoy Australia’s “Olympian of the air,” acrobat Nikita; Miss Roxie Montana and “her rootin’ tootin’ Wild West dogs and ponies” and the “undisputed master of fire manipulation,” Brian La Palme.
The circus marks one of the few times Cumberland County kids have a chance to see elephants and camels in their backyard, and Spence emphasized the food and entertainment at the circus will provide an affordable way for families to have fun together.
Tickets are available for purchase from Hopewell Crest School, Cumberland Tire, Canvas Bag Gallery, Cindy Ewing, Upper Deerfield Pre-School, Gateway Community Action Partnership, Woodruff Energy and Tracy’s Corner at a price of $10 for adults and $6 for children.
Though tickets will also be available at the circus, the Bridgeton Breakfast Rotary Club strongly recommends purchasing ahead of time since tickets at the event will cost $15 for adults and $7 for children. Furthermore, tickets purchased prior to the event will maximize the proceeds to be utilized by the Bridgeton Breakfast Rotary Club.
Under a motto of “service above self,” Rotary International implements service projects to “work locally, regionally and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training and promote peace,” according to the local club’s website.
Through a focused international initiative, Rotary Club has been integral in a worldwide effort to eradicate polio, reducing the list of countries where polio remains endemic from 25 nations to Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan in 20 years.
In addition, Rotary is a supporter of the Salvation Army, and the Bridgeton Breakfast Rotary Club provides youth scholarships and organizes projects and events to benefit the community, such as monthly birthday parties for the residents at the Devereux Foundation, with funds it generates through events like the Kelly Miller Circus at Dutch Neck Village.
And if the glitz and glamour of the big top circus show and support for the service organization aren’t enticing enough reasons to attend, Spence also pointed out “the circus will offer, at no charge, some excellent elephant manure to our horticulturalist neighbors.”