Questions precede circus this week
By STANLEY DUNLAPsdunlap@jacksonsun.com• April 26, 2010
A father-son team whose circus is set to visit Jackson next week has a long history of being accused of scamming circus-goers and arenas across the country.

The Piccadilly Circus - described by promoters as affordable family fun - is scheduled to take place Wednesday the Oman Arena. Over the years, the circus' producer Niles Garden and his father, Richard Garden, have been sued about 40 times in two Florida counties over various business ventures.

In 2004, a Toby Tyler Circus event operated by Richard Gardner at Oman Arena caused some West Tennessee attendees to complain about what they believed were misleading promotions. At the time, some of the people who went to the circus told The Jackson Sun that the cost to get in was higher at the door than was promoted on fliers and that common circus animals such as giraffes and elephants were no-shows.

In 1986, The Sun reported that the Toby Tyler Circus canceled a performance in Jackson, leaving $3,500 in debts and a number of paid tickets.Oman Arena manager Mose Burton said last week that arena officials have taken precautions to ensure the Piccadilly Circus would go on without a hitch.

Burton said he was aware of the allegations made against the promoters but declined to comment about them. He was not manager of Oman Arena when the circus, previously known as the Toby Tyler Circus, performed there in 2004."The promoter has to pay us before the event starts, and we have to have a certified check before the event," Burton said.The arena doesn't have any control over ticket prices because the promoter sets them, Burton said.

For this next week's Piccadilly Circus, fliers placed at various Jackson area businesses offer free admission for children.

Messages left for Niles Garden by The Jackson Sun were not returned.In December, Niles Garden was arrested in Sarasota County, Fla., after he was accused of scheming to defraud more than $50,000 from participants in unrelated shows, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Rory Martin, president of the Sarasota County Agricultural Fair Association, said he won't let the Gardens back on the county's property."They were supposed to have paid up front, but they did not," Martin said. "I was about to cancel their event, but they brought in partial payments, which turned out to be bad checks.

"Martin said the Gardens were holding a home show last February, but because of low attendance, they pulled out."They owe us more than $5,000," he said.

Niles Garden also is being sued for about $150,000 in unpaid bills by the U.S. Postal Service for a canceled trade show promoted by a company in which he is the president and his father is vice president, the Herald-Tribune reported.

In March, Richard Garden was arrested in Florida on two charges of fraud for insufficient funds for checks.

Jackson Sun reporter Tajuana Cheshier contributed to this story.- Stanley Dunlap, 425-9668

From the Jackson, MS Sun

CARSON & BARNES NEWS---

THE CIRCUS IS IN GREENVILLE. MS

04-14-2010
THE CIRCUS HAS MADE ITS WAY TO GREENVILLE.

THE CARSON AND BARNES CIRCUS OPENED A TWO-DAY RUN WEDNESDAY AT THE GREENVILLE MALL.

THE BRIGHT RED "BIG TOP" SITS AT THE SOUTH OF THE MALL PARKING LOT WITH ITS IMPRESSIVE POINTS TOPPED OFF WITH AMERICAN FLAGS.

THE ONE-RING EXTRAVAGANZA SPORTS THE USUAL CIRCUS ACTS AND PERFORMERS COMPLETE WITH TRAPEZE ARTISTS, ELEPHANTS, CAMELS AND OTHER ANIMALS THAT DELIGHT THE CHILDREN. VARIOUS OTHER ACTS THRILLED THE PACKED HOUSES WEDNESDAY.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS INCLUDE A CONTORTIONIST AND ALEX THE CLOWN ALONG WITH CIRCUS FOOD, AND RIDES FOR THE SMALLER CHILDREN.

THE CIRCUS WILL CONTINUE THURSDAY WITH SHOWS AT 4:30 AND 7:30 P.M. TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR.

CAPT. FREDDY LOGAN'S FIGHTING LIONS

1952

1960'S

JAFFA SHRINE CIRCUS, ALTOONA CIRCUS WEEK (FROM DAVID P ORR)

Samson

GREAT AMERICAN CIRCUS 1985

Tiny Tim, Sonja Fairchild and Billy Martin

Season of 1985.

Great American Circus

DERRICK ROSAIRE (FROM SCOTT BUNDY)

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE WEB---

Peakland residents brace for arrival of Cole Bros. Circus

By Carrie J. Sidener Published: April 25, 2010

By Monday afternoon, a tent the length of a football field will top the lawn of the Presbyterian Homes & Family Services as a circus prepares for its opening performance.
The location of this year’s circus, which for the past few years has been held at Liberty University, came under fire last month when some residents of the surrounding Peakland neighborhood off Boonsboro Road expressed objections during a public hearing, citing concerns including traffic hazards, noise and inconsistency with the residential area.
City Council, however, voted in favor of the circus by granting it a conditional use permit. Cole Bros. Circus has been visiting Lynchburg for more than six decades.
Presbyterian Homes is a nonprofit providing housing and other services for at-risk youth and adults with intellectual disabilities. The circus will set up on the agency’s main lawn near the center of the more than 100-acre campus between Linden Avenue and V.E.S. Road.
Mark Morrison, vice president of development for Presbyterian Homes and Family Services, said having the circus literally set up in the children’s own yard has generated a lot of excitement. Because the Presbyterian Homes is hosting the circus, a portion of the proceeds from advanced and at-the-gate ticket sales will go to the nonprofit.
“It’s also an opportunity to expose people to our beautiful campus,” Morrison said. “We’ve been in Lynchburg for more than 100 years. We’re a well-kept secret. This is an opportunity to bring people to our campus and show them what we do.”
Morrison said the Presbyterian Home staff has worked hard to minimize the impact the two-day circus will have on the surrounding neighborhood, including limiting access to the circus to one entrance, having off-duty officers and private security on hand and trying to limit noise that may disturb the neighborhood.
“We agreed that this site was worth trying,” Morrison said. “We’d give it a shot. … It’s very unusual to do something like this and we may not ever do it again.”
Dan Baltulonis, senior marketing director for Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars, said the circus is celebrating its 126th year.
“We are the oldest tented circus in the U.S.,” Baltulonis said. “We travel up and down the East Coast for nine months. We do 250 shows in a year in 110 cities and 20 to 25 different states.”
Circus attractions include white tigers, elephants and other circus animals; a “human cannonball” and clowns. The Monday night show will feature racecar driver Stacey Compton riding an elephant.
Capt. Todd Swisher, of the Lynchburg Police Department, said a few off-duty officers will be on hand to help with traffic and other security concerns during the two-day circus.

from Newsadvance.com, Lynchburg, VA, Sunday Apr 25, 2010

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE WEB---

AUGUSTA--Morning Sentiel, Sunday Apr 25th
Protest greets circus fansShow officials say children love the animalsBy Mechele Cooper

mcooper@centralmaine.com Staff Writer

The Shriners circus held on Friday and Saturday is one of the organization's major fundraisers.
Protesters from Animal Rights Maine greeted circus goers with signs and handed out literature about animal cruelty.
"It wouldn't bother me, not really," Howell said Saturday. "There's a whole bunch of clowns and I like the acrobats. They're cool."

Hicks said there is entertainment value for animal-free circuses. Unfortunately, circuses are the only place children can see exotic animals in central Maine because there are no major zoos around.
"I heard that one of their elephants died so they didn't have them last night," Hicks said. "But they had tigers."
Melissa Gates of Animal Rights Maine, said her group has sent letters and called the Kora Shrine Temple in Lewiston encouraging the organization to adopt animal-free events for all future fundraising circuses.

COMMENTS FROM READERS

Jazz11 said...Gotta love the Shriners. They are one of the best groups around. Gotta hate those traveling circuses! The pain inflicted and the abuse suffered by the exotic animals if often horrific. I am aware children have no close access to a zoo, but that is still not an excuse for seeing abused animals.April 25, 2010 at 4:49 AM Report abuse

Jughead said...So you got your info for this article from PETA? Try getting it from a credible source and one that is not obviously one sided on this issue.April 25, 2010 at 9:54 AM Report abuse

SUNDAY FUNNIES

FROM FRANCE: CIRQUE AMAR

KARI PADAGORSKI

CIRCUS MONTHLY 1961 CONT'D

CLICK ON EACH IMAGE TO ENLARGE & READ!

CIRCUS MONTHLY 1961 CONT'D

CLICK ON EACH IMAGE TO ENLARGE AND READ

SHERWOOD AMUSEMENTS

The Sherwood Amusements Carnival at Smyrna Municipal Park features a variety of thrill rides, children’s rides, games, and refreshments.

Sherwood Amusements played Smyrna three weeks ago.

BELLO

Bello Nock was born to clown around

By Chris Bergeron GateHouse News Service

Posted Apr 13, 2010

Bello Nock was a born clown.

Born Demetrius Alexandro Claudio Amadeus Bello Nock in Sarasota, Fla., he’s a seventh-generation descendant of the family that founded Circus Nock in Switzerland in the 1700s.
Named by Time magazine as “America’s best clown,” the 42-year-old married father of three earns his pay these days just being himself in the namesake “Bello Is Back,” a fun, action-packed production of the Big Apple Circus.
An American of Swiss and Italian ancestry, he insisted he is “not a stereotypical clown or a stereotypical daredevil.”
“It’s funny because I make people laugh and the word ‘clown’ is the first thing that comes to their minds,” he said. “I don’t consider myself a clown. I’m a comedian. I love making people laugh.” Nock’s been doing just that most of his life.
At the age of 3, he played the baby in a burning house in “Dumbo’s Circus.” At the ripe age of 6, he played Michael Darling opposite Cathy Rigby in “Peter Pan.” Nock had his first circus job at 15, traveling around the world with his family’s circus, the Nerveless Nocks.
After time with a Mexican circus, he performed with the Big Apple Circus in 2000 and 2001 and then joined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus, where he spent nine years as its star attraction.
Nock said he rejoined the Big Apple Circus because “the intimate setting is really a lot of fun.” For nearly two hours, he plays the accident-prone court jester in a baggy tux who bumbles into other performers’ acts, inducing comedic chaos and lots of laughs.
Coattails flapping, he interrupts jugglers and horse trainers, acrobats and dancing dogs. He’s a skillful acrobat, a deadpan mime and a master of slapstick whose signature 10-inch-high orange hair never seems to get messed up.
Representing the eighth generation in the family business, his 14-year-old daughter Annaliese performs as an aerialist and acrobat in the Boston production. His son, Alexander, 20, works behind the scenes. And Nock’s wife Jennifer and 16-year-old daughter Amariah manage his wardrobe.
A student of history’s great clowns, Nock described himself as a madcap amalgam of Harpo Marx and Evel Knievel, Jackie Chan and Jim Carrey with a little Robin Williams thrown in.
“I do things (illusionist) David Blaine could only dream of,” he said.
Asked about his signature reddish-orange hair, Nock said, “I’ve worn it that way since I was 11 years old. ... I’ve got Viagra in my shampoo. And I use a little Kenra hair spray, no gel, no mousse. It has a life of its own, like my mood."
MetroWest Daily News

GIBSONTON, FL "SHOWTOWN USA"

Freaktown USA Fights to Stay Freaky

by Marc Holtzman
(April 22) -- What good is a roadside attraction if it can't sit along the side of the road? That's the problem Gibsonton, Fla. -- better known as Freaktown USA -- is facing.
The town that was once home to the Monkey Girl, the Alligator Skinned Man and Lobster Boy is trying to preserve the memory of its most famous giant, Al Tomaini, with a memorial featuring a replica of his colossal boot. He reportedly stood 8 feet 4 inches tall.
Carol Philips, a former circus worker and wolf trainer, is spearheading the effort as chairwoman of the Concerned Citizens of Gibsonton. The group wants the monument to be placed along Highway 41, just south of Tampa and off the Alafia River.
That's where the giant and his wife, Jeanie the Half Girl (she measured 2 feet 6 inches), built the Giant's Camp restaurant and fishing cabins in the 1950s. It's also where a huge Tomaini boot sat atop a concrete slab and served as a memorial for decades, until its recent deterioration.
However, the group faces one giant problem: Hillsborough County has said the monument must be set 50 feet away from the highway because it's been designated as an accessory structure on commercial property.

Generally, such accessory structures are trash bins or sheds that shouldn't be thrust into public view.
This structure is anything but. It's an 8-foot-4-inch granite base featuring a sculpted replica of Tomaini's original boot and was designed by Lew Stamm, an artist from Sevierville, Tenn. One of the giant's massive rings (which he sold as souvenirs) will also be installed in the monument. In all, it will stand 11 feet 1 inch.
"I think it's a neat idea," said Lori Boylan, a community planner for Hillsborough County, who expressed confidence that the structure will get its desired placement.
If so, it'll keep Tomaini's vast presence intact. Until his death at 50 in 1962, he couldn't be missed by anyone. The Giant's Camp kept his spirit alive until 2007, when the family sold the property and the camp was cleared away, with the exception of one restored cabin. Jeanie the Half Girl died in 1999, just weeks before turning 83.
The Tomainis' granddaughter, Tina, was saddened to lose the Giant's Camp but supports the memorial. "I want my grandparents to be remembered for who they were and what they did for Gibsonton," she said. "They made Gibsonton."
Philips began her quest for a new memorial after being approached by residents from nearby towns at a local community-building seminar. Until then, she hadn't thought much of the big old boot.
One of the men walked up to me and asked, 'Are you from Gibsonton? I tell you what: You people need to do something about that boot. I just feel so bad every time I drive by and see what condition it's in!'" she recalled. "A few days later, a couple of us went out to see the boot and were taken aback to see that, in reality, there was really nothing of the boot itself left."
The concrete and the wire that helped keep the boot's shape were still there, but nothing else. Shortly afterward, the concrete was gone too. A generator towed down the highway broke loose and ran into it. What remained was claimed by Tomaini's daughter, Judy.
"[It was] a kind of landmark for show folks," said Pete Kolozsy, who grew up in Gibsonton and now runs a giant snake and giant river rat show.
The Concerned Citizens have filed for a variance to allow an exception in the zoning law so the monument may be placed just 10 feet from the highway. A hearing will take place April 23, and the fate of Tomaini's legacy will be decided by the land use hearing officer soon after.
Ironically, zoning laws are what brought sideshow and carnival workers to Gibsonton in the first place.
In the early 1920s, carnival concessionaires Eddie and Grace LeMay happened to stop for a rest at the Alafia River. The area wasn't much more than a dirt road at the time, but the LeMays soon met a handful of welcoming locals and decided to stay. Word traveled, and soon other show folks began wintering in the hospitable town.
Land was cheap, and zoning laws allowing for "residential show business" made it convenient for trailers and carnival equipment.
In the late 1940s, the Tomainis joined the show folks and called Gibsonton home. The giant not only opened the Giant's Camp but also founded the town's first fire department and became its chief. In keeping with the character of the community, the police department was headed by a dwarf.
Before long, carnies and freaks not only wintered in Gibsonton; they retired there as well. Giants, little people, bearded ladies, fat men, fat ladies and other curious residents could stroll about, free of stares.
from AOL "wierd news"