Circus to feature clown, costumes, balancing acts, animals and more

BY LESLIE BIXLER • Staff writer •

July 19, 2010
FREMONT -- The Carson and Barnes Circus is coming to town Wednesday at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds.The last time this circus came to town was in 1999, said Mal Knopf, marketing director of the circus."We cover all of Ohio and go to more than 200 towns in nine months," he said.

This year they will have a clown named Alex who will entertain while jumping on a trampoline.

Other highlights of the show will include a patriotic parade displaying hand-made costumes and animal blankets concluding with an aerial extravaganza, daredevils of the Double Wheels of Destiny with balancing and agility while being blindfolded, along with trapeze artists, unicycles, prancing ponies, juggling and, of course, the animals.
The two shows are at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Adult tickets are $18 and children's tickets are $10 for those 12 and younger. Tickets are buy one, get one free.
People can save more if they buy them online at http://www.carson/ barnescircus.com.
The circus dates back to 1937 through four generations of family ownership and operation. The new circus tent is about 50 feet high and can hold about 2,200 people.
Knopf said they have the second largest herd of elephants in the United States and support the Endangered Ark Foundation for the preservation of the endangered Asian elephant and other animals.

They work with Texas A&M University to breed elephants.
On the morning of the circus, people can see more than two dozen types of animals as they arrive and are watered and fed.
Despite allegations by PETA of animal cruelty by circuses, Knopf says "We've never been cited for animal abuse. We get inspected on a regular basis by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and sometimes by surprise.

COLE BROS OPENS ON STATEN ISLAND...

Staten Island Advance/Nicole Boffa

Professor Know-Y of the Cole Bros. Circus performs a trick with assistants, from left, Irving Kalish, Phyllis Guardascione and Juan Garcia at Community Resources in Bulls Head last week.
Cole Bros. Circus opens week of shows in Midland Beach this evening
Published: Monday, July 19, 2010
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Cole Bros. Circus kicks off its week-long stay on Staten Island this evening with its opening show at Midland Beach.
The circus pitches it tent through Sunday in Midland Beach Park, 1110 Capodanno Blvd.
Show times are 5 and 8 p.m., today through Friday,
and 2, 5 and 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
The show will deliver five elephants, two camels, two zebras, two miniature horses, 11 ponies, 10 dogs, seven tigers and one liger (a lion/tiger half-breed), along with traditional clowns, trapeze artists and a human cannonball.
from the Staten Island Advance

TIPPACANOE COUNTY FAIR OPENS...

Emily Holder (left), Ava Holder and Myles Sturgeon ride the Frog Hopper Monday at the Tippecanoe County 4-H Fair. (By Jamie Lynn Chevillet/Journal & Courier)

Rides bring fairgoers around and around

By LIZ SCHRADER • eschrader@jconline.com • July 20, 2010
While livestock and 4-H projects are the central themes of the Tippecanoe County 4-H fair, the rides are what draw thrill seekers young and old.
According to carnival supervisor Andrew Schoendienst, there will be approximately 20 carnival rides at the fair this year with the Avalanche being one of the most popular.For those looking to save, today and Saturday present opportunities to save with special pricing.The Journal & Courier went to the fair to see what rides fairgoers liked best, with the Storm being a crowd favorite.Jacob Rothenberger, 13 -- Lafayette: "I like the Avalanche because it spins you around a lot and it's fun to go on."from jconline.comKendall Jero, 17-- Lafayette: "My favorite ride is Storm. It's kind of like a scrambler, it's really fast which is what I like about it.Blake Nydegger, 9 and Karissa Nydegger, 10, -- Dayton: "The Himalaya is my favorite ride. I like it because it goes around and around and gets faster. It's really fun," said Blake.Karissa preferred slower rides and liked the Avalanche."The Avalanche is slow at times, and when it drops you its really fun," she said.James Horn,18 -- Romney: "Storm is my favorite because it's awesome and it's rough. I try to go on it whenever I can."Jennifer Mills, 10 -- Lafayette: "I like Storm and how it spins you around. The first time I went on it I threw up. I was relaxed when I was riding on it, but then when I got off I didn't feel good."

DELAWARE STATE FAIR OPENS JULY 22!

DON'T FORGET: CLICK ON EACH PICTURE TO ENLARGE & READ!

STRATES SHOWS SET UP, ORANGE COUNTY FAIR #1 (STEVE KEELER)

Steve Keeler took these pictures on Saturday, July 17,2010

At The Orange County Fairgrounds in Middletown, NY.

The Fair opens later this week.

Saturday was race day at the fair's grandstand.

STRATES SHOWS SET UP, ORANGE COUNTY FAIR #2 (STEVE KEELER)

STRATES SHOWS SETTING UP AT ORANGE COUNTY FAIR #3 (STEVE KEELER)

Circus Una Motorcycle Thrill Show

Circus Una Motorcycle Thrill Show

Friday, July 16, 2010

Evan Witek The Muskegon Chronicle

Sara Young climbs up to a motorcycle on a tightrope for the Circus Una Motorcycle Thrill Show at Bike Time on July 16th, 2010. (Evan Witek/The Muskegon Chronicle)
Una Mimnagh, right, and Sara Young, left, perform in the Circus Una Motorcycle Thrill Show at Bike Time on July 16th, 2010. (Evan Witek/The Muskegon Chronicle)

Spectators watch the Circus Una Motorcycle Thrill Show at Bike Time on July 16th, 2010. (Evan Witek/The Muskegon Chronicle)

SUNDAY FUNNIES

KELLY MILLER CIRCUS SOUVENIER STAND

KELLY MILLER CIRCUS ELEPHANTS 2010

CIRCUS VIDBEL CONCESSIONS 2010

GRACIE HANNEFORD AT WHALOM PARK (FROM MIKE NAUGHTON)

CARSON & BARNES CIRCUS IN PORTAGE, OHIO

Ringing in the weekend: Plenty of fun with circus, horse show in Portage

A Habitat For Humanity family, Millie Shlusher and kids Tracie and Dakota, rides an elephant into the circus ring.
By Mike Sever
Record-Courier staff writer
Horses and elephants, aerialists and riders were the stars of entertainment this weekend.
Children young and old got a rare experience Friday as the Carson & Barnes Circus presented two performances at the Randolph Fairgrounds.
And the 51st annual Charity Horse Show started Friday and continues today and Sunday at Sunbeau Valley Farm in Ravenna Township with hundreds of horses and riders.
The first Carson & Barnes trucks rolled into the Randolph Fairgrounds before daylight Friday, loaded with equipment and animals.
By 8 a.m. the four framework piers for the massive 50-foot-tall big top were up and local residents were arriving to watch the action.
“We’ve been to a circus before, but we never saw one set up,” said Jamie Bristau of Aurora. She and her daughter Emma, 2 1/2, were watching the elephants, and later pet a camel.
“It’s so cool. We got to see a hippo,” said Michaela Wise. She was watching the action with friends Ashley Smithberger, Anna DeAngelis and Rylie Clause, all of Randolph.
Gianni Damicone, 3, watched intently as the red-and-blue big top went up.
“He’s been to the circus before, but this is his first big top,” said his grandmother, Diane Damicone.
When the show opened, children of all ages watched wide-eyed as the Fernandez family performed death-defying feats on the “Double Wheels of Fate” and “Franchesca” spun masses of hula hoops.
Performing dogs, high-wire aerialists and “Alex” the clown kept audience members smiling and on the edge of their seats.
Carson & Barnes, one of the last circuses to perform under a big top tent, is marking its 74th anniversary. The family-owned circus is based in Oklahoma and includes performing artists from around the world.
Friday’s two performances by the Carson & Barnes Circus were sponsored by Habitat for Humanity of Portage County. Proceeds go to support Habitat’s mission of building affordable housing for families.
Guest ringmaster for the early show was Janet Esposito, Portage County auditor and a Habitat board member.
The early show opened with Lindsay Durdel, 16, of Aurora singing “God Bless the USA.” Durdel is a member of the Singing Angels, a Cleveland-area youth chorus with some 250 members.
Others pitched in to help Habitat put on the circus, from Southeast High School football players directing parking to the Portage County-Randolph Fair Board donating use of the fairgrounds parking lot.
“The community has really supported us,” said Barbara Oswick, Habitat circus co-chair. This is the third time Habitat has sponsored the circus appearance.
The horse show continues at noon today and 11 a.m. on Sunday at Sunbeau Valley Farm west of Ravenna.
Admission is $5. Children age 12 and younger enter free.There is no charge for parking.
The event raises money for the Hattie Larlham Foundation, Ravenna Lions and the Questor 4-H group.

CARSON & BARNES CONT'D

A Circus performer uses long lengths of cloth to dance in the air.

Alaynah Kendrick, age 4, of Ravenna, watches a circus performer prepare for her act behind the scenes.

Janet Esposito as quest ring master introduces the circus!

Franchesca performs with a slew of Hoola Hoops at the Circus

How street it is, for kings of the fair as producers get lion's share from cookie-cutter fests

Mort Berkowitz (above) of Mort and Ray Productions and Todd Berman (below) of Clearview Festival Productions, oversee a large percentage of the city’s street fairs.
BY Erin Einhorn DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
They are the kings of New York's street fairs.
Just three men control nearly two-thirds of the festivals that clog city streets with vendors peddling cheap T-shirts, gyros and sunglasses.
They're a favorite target of griping New Yorkers: the noise, the traffic, the loss of sales for local stores.
Mayor Bloomberg recently banned more fairs beyond the 321 operating every year, and a think tank just skewered them for promoting an endless loop of slushies and shlock.
Maybe that's because the companies crank out more than 200 of the annual fairs like cars off an assembly line:Joseph Giovanni's Mardi Gras Festival Productions ran 77 of the city's largest, most-profitable Manhattan fairs last year, taking in $2.6 million from vendors, city records show.Todd Berman's Clearview Festival Productions ran 106 fairs across the city, including many outside Manhattan. He took in $2.3 million from vendors.Mort Berkowitz's Mort & Ray Productions focused on fewer fairs - just 22 last year - but his portfolio includes the mother of them all: the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy. He grossed $1.2 million from vendors.

They say their critics are snobs.
"It's all a bunch of bogus nonsense," said Arthur Tisi, who helped Giovanni found Mardi Gras 31 years ago. "Hundreds of thousands of people love street fairs."
The czars argue the fairs put people to work and add life to the streets."That's very much the yuppie attitude - 'We don't want to close the street. We don't want shopping on the street,'" Berman said. "The streets belong to the neighborhood and to New Yorkers."
And the fairs belong to the producers.
The city collects 20% of proceeds - about $1.6 million a year - but that's far less than the $4 million spent on policing the events.
"It just may be something we can't afford," Bloomberg said earlier this year.
Nonprofit groups that sponsor the events collect a very small cut of the proceeds, documents show.
"[The three companies] are a huge part of the problem," said Jonathan Bowles of the Center for an Urban Future, which has issued several reports critical of street fairs. "They just want their cut. They don't have much interest in what happens in the neighborhood."
Two of the companies insist they're trying to make fairs more diverse. Berman said he offers discounts to artists, while Berkowitz says he always recruits face-painters for kids and gives booths to local organizations.
But Mardi Gras makes no apologies for its cookie-cutter fairs. It even offers package deals to vendors who work multiple fairs on a "buy 20, get seven free" basis.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/07/18/2010-07-18_how_street_it_is_for_kings_of_the_fair_producers_get_lions_share_from_cookiecutt.html#ixzz0u20ICouE