At the circus, ringmaster, animal trainer control all


Cathy Carden is a seventh-generation veteran animal trainer and presenter. / submitted image
from:  delmarvanow.com
Written by Josh Davis
For Go! Magazine
Mar. 6, 2013
SALISBURY,MD — They say the circus appeals to “children of ages.” With Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s latest traveling spectacular, performers of all ages have taken the center stage.
Two of the show’s most important players are rookie ringmaster David Shipman, and seventh-generation veteran animal trainer and presenter Cathy Carden.
Carden called growing up in the circus a “fun childhood.”
“My mom raised baby elephants, and I helped her with feeding and raising them,” she said. “That was pretty cool. We had a very close family, and we all worked together seven days a week, and we all traveled together.”

 

David Shipman is the show's ringmaster. / submitted image
Shipman, dubbed the show’s “Mainframe Maestro,” saw his first Ringling show at age 2 1/2.
“It was actually the first show I ever saw, and I remember — even at that age — being so amazed with the lights and the performers, and all of the wonderful things that were happening around me,” he recalled. “I sat there with wide-eyed wonderment and complete amazement. It really ignited my excitement for performing.”
The performer, who comes from a theatrical background, said the show’s cast and crew have been a joy to work with.
“I was actually really nervous going into it, because I’ve never actually been in a circus before,” he said. “Going into it, you hear stories of people who have done it their whole lives — they have generations that have done it — and I was nervous about fitting in. But these people have been so warm and welcoming, and truly wonderful. It’s been great so far, and they’ve made the transition into doing it incredibly easy.”
Carden has a husband, Brett, who also works with the show, as well as children who travel with them.
For us, it’s all about our kids and it’s about our animals,” she said. “What I enjoy is training, so in between the six-minute performance, you’re caring for your animals and training your animals — having that relationship. No matter what, you have to start with that relationship.”
Shipman’s role on the show is something between host and hype-man.
read more:
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20130307/ENTERTAINMENT/303070058/At-circus-ringmaster-animal-trainer-control-all

Back to her days under the Big Top
Circus 'family' stirs performer's memories


Juggler Lanka Smaha performs. Alyce Blum, 93, and her brother were abandoned at an orphanage in Pennsylvania when she was 6 years old. They ran away and joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and learned to be performers. She now resides at Manor House ACTS Retirement Life Community in Seaford.
from:  delawareonline.com
Written by James Fisher
The News Journal
Mar. 6, 2013
SEAFORD — When she was a girl, Alyce Blum used to run away from her Pennsylvania orphanage every summer to join the circus.
“I climbed right out the window,” she said.
With her older brother, Jack, she hitchhiked to Florida and connected with a circus troupe entertaining crowds during the Great Depression.
Now 93, Blum lives in Manor House, a retirement community in Seaford. But she can easily recall details of her traveling life as far back as the 1920s, as a child ensconced in a world that children all over are amazed by.
“I’m never sorry I did it,” Blum said Wednesday. “The circus is my family.”
Her family paid her a visit that evening, when four performers from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus dropped in at Manor House ACTS Retirement-Life Community for a surprise session with Blum.
 

Alyce Blum, 93, and her brother were abandoned at an orphanage in Pennsylvania when she was 6 years old. They ran away and joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and learned to be performers. She now resides at Manor House ACTS Retirement Life Community in Seaford. The clown is Dean Kelley.
Staff at the center had planned a trip with her to see the troupe perform at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center in Salisbury, Md., this weekend. But they kept her in the dark about Wednesday’s visit right up until the moment she walked into the dining hall to find the four performers in full costume.
“We’re here to celebrate Alyce Blum!” said ringmaster David Shipman, dressed in a sparkling green-and-blue coat, as clown Dean Kelley presented a beaming Blum with a bouquet of flowers. Kelley, juggler Lanka Smaha and animal trainer Catherine Carden then performed a few tricks for Blum and the other residents.

 

A photo on display at Manor House shows Alyce Blum posing with a big cat in 2004. ALYCE BLUM PHOTO
As Blum tells it, her circus years were a wonderful way to grow up. She performed high-wire tricks, riding Indian motorcycles across the ring from a great height, and glided among tigers during shows. The motorcycles “were heavy machines, but they’re powerful as heck,” she said. “I never fell off. Never got hurt, ever, at all.” None of her exploits, night after night, ever seemed dangerous to her, she said.
“I didn’t know what danger was. Your parents taught you that,” she said. Hers abandoned their children – Blum and her brother – when she was 3 years old. “I always wanted to be shot out of a cannon, but they wouldn’t do that with me.”
She became friends on the road with Emmett Kelley, famous for the character of “Weary Willie,” the original sad-faced hobo clown of the Depression. Once she turned 9, she said, she began collecting pay from the circus, but before then, the troupe fed, sheltered and clothed her and her brother.
read more:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130307/NEWS/303070034/Back-her-days-under-Big-Top?nclick_check=1

 

2013 DATES

 Bank Colisee
Friday, April 12, 2013
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Shows at 9:30 AM, 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM

Cumberland County Civic Center
Monday, April 15, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Augusta Civic Center
Friday, April 19, 2013
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Shows and 9:30 AM, 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM

FROM KELLY-MILLER CIRCUS
FACEBOOK PAGE

 

March 5, 2013
When journalists visit the circus they always have a fun time. During a recent visit to the Kelly Miller Circus, this Univision reporter had an opportunity to do her reporting atop an elephant.

RINGLING-COLUMBIA

Flying through the circus

 

George Caceres, left, of the Flying Caceres completes an aerial stunt. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey DRAGONS opens tonight at the Colonial Life Arena. PHOTO PROVIDED
from:  thestate.com
By OTIS R. TAYLOR JR
March 7, 2013 
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey DRAGONS opens tonight at the Colonial Life Arena. There are eight shows through Sunday. One of the acts performing is the Flying Caceres, a company of trapeze artists.
The Flying Caceres perform on a double-decker trapeze. We asked George Caceres, who has been flying under the big top for more than two decades, five questions about his circus life. The interview has been edited for space and clarity.
 Your father was a well-known trapeze artist. What was it like growing up around the circus, and was it every kid’s dream? I have nothing to compare it with. I didn’t know any different. I was born into it and that was my life. I didn’t realize until after that it wasn’t normal. It was cool. I have fond memories of it. You get to see your family all the time. You’re surrounded by people all the time. As a kid not in the circus, I guess you’re surrounded by other kids. I guess the answer to the question is that I grew up a little faster.
 According to show notes, the rigging you designed is four feet taller than the average trapeze setup. How did you who come up with that brilliantly scary idea? That’s actually a misprint. It’s actually eight feet higher. When you doing anything, you want to be competitive. I was always thinking of new ways to present flying trapeze.
 The circus train has a dining car called the pie car. Is that where you eat most of your meals? I have my own kitchen. There’s also the pie car at the building. I eat there when I’m at work. At night or during the day, I usually cook in my kitchen. All the rooms don’t have it. I have my own shower, my own laundry, my own kitchen.
 Do you help design your costumes? Usually the performers are not involved in the process. Only the fitting.
 When you’re flying, what’s the No. 1 thing you can’t forget? You shouldn’t forget what you’re doing. There’s a certain checklist. There’s no moment when you’re flying when you can doze off. There’s no daydreaming.
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/03/07/2663148/flying-through-the-circus.html#storylink=cpy

FROM RETRONAUGHT

 

GARGANTUA

Bust of gorilla Gargantua, circus elephant leg bone featured at Cook's museum in Decatur
(Odd Travels)


This bust of Gargantua, a 6-foot-tall circus gorilla, was made from his death mask in 1971. It is on display at Cookâ??s Natural Science museum in Decatur. (Kelly Kazek/kkazek@al,com)
from: al.com
By Kelly Kazek | kkazek@al.com
March 06, 2013
DECATUR, Alabama – A bust made from the death mask of a 6-foot-tall gorilla named Gargantua and a bone from the leg of a circus elephant named Alice may not suggest romance to most people. But they are pivotal to the love story of John and Jo Cook, founders of Cook’s Pest Control and a natural science museum that has enthralled schoolchildren and tourists for decades.
Although John died in 2009, Eleanor “Jo” Cook still arrives regularly at her office at Cook’s Pest Control headquarters and enjoys the fact that children love to visit Cook’s Natural Science Museum, which began with training displays of bugs and termite-riddled wood and evolved into a place for children to learn about all kinds of wildlife and wildlife habitats.
The museum, which John stipulated should always offer free admission, includes a theater that shows a film of the history of the collection. Visitors can learn about nature by viewing exhibits of taxidermied wildlife, the intimidating skulls of hippos and rhinos, minerals and gems, and, of course, lots of insects.

 

Allison Fleming, who works at Cooks Natural Science Museum in Decatur, poses with a leg bone from Alice, an Asian elephant who performed in circuses. (Kelly Kazek/kkazek@al,com)
Located at 412 13th Street SE, the museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m., and from 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Call 256-350-9347 for information.
In addition to the bust of Gargantua and Alice’s leg bone, two of the most unique exhibits are of a bald eagle and a golden eagle, which are federally protected birds.
A description of the museum at cookspest.com states: “Cook’s Natural Science Museum is one of the few private museums in the United States authorized by the federal government to include eagle exhibits in their collection. Rarer still is the fact that Cook’s Museum is one of the few museums in the U.S. to display both a bald eagle and a golden eagle.”
map
read more:
http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/03/bust_of_gorilla_gargantua_circ.html

FROM RETRONAUGHT

 

 

SPRINGFIELD SHRINE CIRCUS

USDA regulations send circus from Mosque to JQH


from:  news-leader.com
Written by Thomas Gounley
Mar 6, 2013
Springfield,Missouri--A springtime tradition is heading down the road.
When the Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Circus comes to town next month, the six shows will take place in JQH Arena — ending decades of performances at the Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Mosque at the corner of Kimbrough Avenue and St. Louis Street.
Shrine Mosque administrator Tom Morris said the change was prompted by United States Department of Agriculture regulations that, while not necessarily new, are being enforced more strictly in the wake of the formation of third-party organizations monitoring the safety and treatment of exotic animals.
“We can no longer get the cages in the building for the cat act,” he said.
Additionally, Morris said, there were issues with the closeness of the elephants to the crowd and their storage on the street. JQH Arena, he said, is better equipped for the shows.
“We’re looking forward to being over there,” he said.

 

Morris said he has traced the three-ring circus in the Shrine Mosque back at least 65 years but can’t be sure exactly when the tradition started. The circus is an annual fundraiser for the Shriners organization.
This year’s Shrine Circus has a Broadway theme. Human attractions include “The Human Cannonball,” two-and-four-wheeled “Extreme Circus Riders” and the trapeze act of “The Flying Bells.” Animal attractions include tigers, a liger (think lion and tiger) and dancing elephants — including “Broadway Bo,” billed as the world’s largest performing elephant.
“We’re bringing a big show, the biggest we’ve ever put together,” George Carden, the founder of the circus, said in a media release.
“The spirit of the circus is to top anything and everything, each year.”
Performances will be held on April 5, 6 and 7
 

CIRQUE ITALIA HIGHLIGHTS

 

NO ORDINARY ACROBAT

No Ordinary 'Acrobat': An Unconventional History Of The Circus

 

The Ordinary Acrobat
A Journey into the Wondrous World of the Circus, Past and Present by Duncan Wall
from: npr.org
by Drew Toal
March 06, 2013
Whenever I think of the circus (which, admittedly, is rarely), the first thing that comes to mind is Bruce Davidson's famous photograph of a forlorn clown smoking a cigarette and clutching a fistful of wilted flowers in the mud outside a ratty circus tent. Fittingly, I first saw this striking image on the cover of Heinrich Boll's 1963 novel, The Clown. The titular protagonist isn't the creepy backyard children's entertainer we've come to associate with the form. He's troubled and high-strung, and sees himself first and foremost as an artist — and something of a mystic, to boot. Judging by Duncan Wall's memoir/history, The Ordinary Acrobat: A Journey into the Wondrous World of the Circus, Past and Present, Boll's portrayal is far and away the more accurate one.
For Wall, and most Americans, the circus barely registers as a cultural entity. Of his limited childhood circus experience, Wall writes, "I can remember walking across the enormous asphalt parking lot with my father, hand in hand, past the rows of cars and the soot-stained trucks. ... I remember watching the show with a mixture of confusion and boredom. The overweight acrobats wore out-of-style sequins. The tigers looked sluggish and distracted." It sounds more like a High-Stalinist carnival where attendees were forced to mime joy, but fits well with Davidson's stark photographic representation.
read more:
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/06/172608511/no-ordinary-acrobat-an-unconventional-history-of-the-circus

CONEY ISLAND

Coney Island Gala: Hurricane Sandy Jeopardized Circus Sideshow's Future -
Here's How You Can Help

 

The Huffington Post
By Andy Campbell
03/06/2013
The famous Coney Island Circus Sideshow is about to become a no-show.
Much of the neighborhood in Brooklyn was under five feet of water during Hurricane Sandy, devastating much of the Coney Island USA attractions -- including its 1917 landmark building that included a gift shop, bar and sideshow theater -- and resulting in damages of about $405,000.
Now the Easter opening of New York City's most beloved destination is in jeopardy. The people who bring you the Mermaid Parade, the Coney Island Circus Sideshow and the Coney Island Museum are running out of fundraising options.
"Everything was destroyed," Coney Island USA head Dick Zigun told HuffPost Weird News. "We simply cannot get reopened on time without help."
Coney Island needs your help to raise money (and party down) on Saturday.
The Coney Island USA Spring Gala is here, and this time the burlesque-and-booze-fest is for a good cause. The four-hour event will be held Saturday, March 9 at Webster Hall in New York City, and will feature sideshow legends, go go girls, DJs, celebrities, and raffles. Tickets go for $60-250, depending on how much free booze and V.I.P. access you want.
"We are tooting our own horn, but are letting people know that it was this organization that started the neo-burlesque movement thirty years ago," Zigun said. "This is going to be the best party yet."
 If you can't make it to the event, you can still donate to the Coney Island USA recovery effort by clicking here:
http://shop.coneyisland.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=1648

Sarasota Circus Clowns Do The Harlem Shake

Circus Sarasota trying to attract donations in the 36-Hour Giving Challenge through a Harlem Shake video.

from: sarasota.patch.com

Up Chuck-- By Charles Schelle

March 5, 2013

If anyone does a Harlem Shake video, we'll pretty much link to it. Especially if it's a good cause like the 36-hour Giving Challenge.

One of the latest is the esteemed Circus Sarasota, bringing out their best clowns to shake what the circus ring gave them along with tons of teens from its Sailor Circus program for teens and children. As for presentation, this is one of the best Harlem Shake videos considering the perspective inside the Sailor Circus dome on Bahia Vista Street.

The Arts and Cultural Alliance and the HuB teamed up for several Harlem Shake videos for organizations in Sarasota, and they are all listed on the HuB's special Shake Up page.

To give to Circus Sarasota, which produced this year's Nik Wallenda show, visit www.GivingPartnerChallenge.org and enter in the organization's name.

read more:

http://sarasota.patch.com/articles/sarasota-clowns-do-the-harlem-shake#youtube_video-13567372

HAMID KIDS

Ringmaster Peter Sturgis and Hamid Circus Inc. Kids!!

 

 — with Haley Hamid, Shirley Hamid, Belinda Hamid, Olivia Hansen, Alecia Hansen, Peter Sturgis, Madison Hansen and james Hamid.

Man Killed by His Beloved Pet Hippo

Description:A South African man was found dead after being attacked by his six year old pet Hippo, Humphrey.(1:34)

Source: Newsy

1920s : “Sky High Madison”


Curated by Chris Wild
from:  retronaut.com

“Ralph Madsen (1897-1948) was nicknamed “Sky High Madison”, “High Bill Madesen”, “Sky Hi”, “Big Boy”, “Atta Boy” and “Mr. Longfellow”.”-- The Tallest Man

 

 

 

 

CARSON & BARNES CIRCUS

Circus coming to Greenville this month

 

from: heraldbanner.com
By BRAD KELLAR Herald-Banner Staff
March 4, 2013
GREENVILLE, TX — The big top is coming to Greenville later this month.
 The Carson and Barnes Circus is set to visit the city for two days of performances benefiting Ridgecrest Hispanic Baptist Church.
 The shows are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 5 pm. March 16-17 at the Hunt County Fairgrounds.
 The Hugo, Okla.-based circus comes complete with trapeze artists, jugglers, acrobats, horses, dogs, elephants and, of course, clowns.
 The circus began in 1937, and in 2012, visited more than 250 communities across 15 states, performing more than 700 shows.

RAW: The circus is in town!!

Published on Mar 5, 2013

http://www.midlandsconnect.com

You know the Ringling Brother's Barnum & Bailey Circus is in town when a few elephants hit the streets of Columbia. Check out this video of their arrival Tuesday morning!

read more:

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=868245

OABA

SUPPORT-PROTECT-ENJOY CIRCUS ANIMALS

 

Help the OABA maintain the right of Circuses and USDA licensed
 animal exhibitors to provide Americans with educational
 performances of exotic animals.
 Contribute a minimum of $25 to the OABA Circus Fund
 to receive your NEW 2013-2014 Horse Pin!
Your contribution will be listed in the next issue of the ShowTime magazine. Donations of $50 or more will be listed in ALL issues of the campaign year.

THE FELD SISTERS

Circus, act three
Ringling Bros. returns to NY for the first time in three years as third-gen owners the Felds try to keep show fresh and relevant.

 

Nicole (left) and Alana Feld are carrying on the family tradition of running the circus.
Photo by Buck Ennis.
from: crainsnewyork.com
By Miriam Kreinin Souccar
March 3, 2013
When the circus parades into the Barclays Center later this month, elephants will dance to the pop tune "Gangnam Style." The lighting will make it look like a rock show. A basketball team will take it to the hoop while perched on unicycles. And all the excitement will be staged closer to the audience than ever before.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—now in its 143rd year—is trying to stay exciting and relevant in order to compete with today's overstimulated generation.
"We spend a lot of time trying to understand what kids' attention spans are like today," said Nicole Feld, executive vice president and producer of Feld Entertainment Inc., the Vienna, Va.-based company that bought the circus in 1967.
This year's circus, whose theme is "Built to Amaze!," runs from March 20 through April 1. It marks the first time Ringling Bros. has staged a major show in Brooklyn since the late 1930s. Though Ms. Feld declined to say how many tickets have been sold so far, she is expecting big crowds. The circus has not played the past couple of years in New York City because its usual home, Madison Square Garden, has been under renovation. The company expects to sell about 250,000 tickets during its Brooklyn run, hoping to benefit from the borough's image as a destination for the young and hip—many of whom now have children.
"Barclays is new and generating lots of buzz, so [Ringling Bros.] wants to be there," said Ernest Albrecht, editor of Spectacle magazine, a circus trade journal.
The circus, and all the other properties that Feld Entertainment produces—such as Disney on Ice, Disney Live! and Monster Jam—are now in the hands of the three Feld daughters, the third generation of Felds to run the company. Nicole, 35, and her sister Alana, 32, are in charge of the circus. The third Feld daughter, 29-year-old Juliette, produces Disney on Ice. Though Nicole and Alana are based in New York, they grew up traveling with the circus, so the world of clowns and animal trainers is in their DNA.
 read more---
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20130303/MEDIA_ENTERTAINMENT/303039987

"MEATBALL"

 

SYMPHONY

Circus performers + Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra = thrills, chills, hopefully no spills in Cirque Musica

 

Rope trick master AJ Silver will other Cirque Musica acts performing with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra at Miller Auditorium March 9.
from:  mlive.com
By Mark Wedel | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette
March 05, 2013
KALAMAZOO, MI-- Maybe there's a reason why circus acts don't often perform with live symphony orchestras.
 Picture Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra musicians playing complex music "with people standing a few feet in front of them doing stuff that could potentially kill that person and maybe destroy an instrument," Matt Roben, master of ceremonies for Cirque Musica said.

The group of circus performers will be with the KSO at Miller Auditorium March 9. They have acts like the "rolla-bolla," where an acrobat is balanced unstably on a stack of rolling metal cylinders, that could result in the type of catastrophe that KSO musicians usually don't have to worry about.
The closest to disaster they've come was when cowboy rope trick master AJ Silver whipped out a rope "and it stopped a foot away from one of the musicians, and another one looked at him with a 'watch it, buddy!' look on his face," Roben said.

The group has only been doing symphony concerts for two years, but they are professionals, Roben said, speaking from a Chicago training center for circus performers.
read more:
http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2013/03/circus_symphony_thrills_chills.html

PATRICIA ZERBINI

~SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK~


Patricia Zerbini
February 24, 2013
from facebook
near Lake Sarasota, FL
With her aunt Mimi and Stan ..

 

Patricia Zerbini
February 18, 2013
near Williston, FL
With Pete Cristiani ...

KORA SHRINE CIRCUS

http://www.korashriners.org/shrine-circus/shrine-circus
The promoter this year for the 2012 Kora Shrine Circus is Hamid Circus, Inc. The Kora Shrine Circus is proud of the acts we are featuring this year. We will have tigers/lions and elephants this year. We will also have a mixed animal act featuring llamas and horses, a double trapeze act and a motorcycle thrill show surely to dazzle and delight. A quick change couple will amaze you with their ability to swap outfits in the blink of an eye.  The circus ring will also feature a dazzling display of horses as well as a pound puppy review. Larry the clown returns to entertain all with his crazy antics as well.

Peter Sturgis - Ringmaster
Hamid Circus, Inc.’s Ringmaster, PETER A. STURGIS, has traveled a long way from his 1956 birthplace of Brookhaven, MS. To the bright lights and glamorous glitter of the circus world.
 PETER’s first show business experience was that of a magician’s assistant in a small Myrtle Beach, SC. amusement park.
 From there he traveled extensively with various magic/illusion shows and even became the “talker” for a “Girl to Gorilla” sideshow on a carnival.
 1981 was a major turning point in PETER’s life when he was “discovered” at Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI. He was told he looked like a ringmaster and thought, “What the heck, I’ll give it try.” Not only did PETER look the part, he sounded great.
 PETER is recognized as the premier circus ringmaster in the world today and Hamid Circus, Inc. is proud to have him a major component of annual tours.
 When not working with the circus, PETER owns and operates a small kiddie carnival, which operates exclusively in Wisconsin.