NOT CIRCUS, BUT INTERESTING!

COLE BROS DATE....

Cole Bros. Circus has it all under the Big Top

Friday, 13 August 2010

The Cole Bros. Circus features animals, clowns and thrill shows under the Big Top Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 16 and 17 at the Robert “Ockie” Wisting Recreation Complex in Rio Grande, NJ.
Tigers, elephants, clowns, the Ponce family on flying trapeze and other thrill acts will all be waiting under the Big Top Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 16 and 17 when the Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars comes to Rio Grande.
The show will go on 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. both days at the Robert “Ockie” Wisting Recreation Complex on Fulling Mill Road near the intersection of Route 47. The circus show involves more than a hundred animals and performers.
The fun begins with a tent raising 8-10 a.m. Friday that is free to all.
For animal lovers, the show features Asian elephants along with Jason and Jennifer Herriott Walker’s royal Bengal tigers, camels, zebras, llamas, ponies and dogs.
Daredevil performers include Guatemala’s Angels of the Air – flying trapeze artists who vault high overhead to perform spine-tingling routines. Clown escapades courtesy of the Bermuda Troupe take place below throughout the performance.
Other billings include Equilibristic Marvel Lana doing a one-finger stand and a human cannonball who flies across the Big Top at a speed of 65 miles per hour. The circus concludes with freestyle motor show featuring daredevil riders in topsy-turvy ATVs who brave the splitting “Globe of Death.”
General admission tickets are $12 in advance or $17 at the gate for adults; upgrades are available for $3 and $5. Free tickets for children under 13 are available at www.FreeKids Tickets.com.

ERIE COUNTY FAIR---

At North America's largest county fair

By GEORGE BAILEY, QMI Agency

For 12 days every August, a little more than a million people have a love affair at North America's largest county fair -- The Erie County Fair. (Courtesy Erie County Fair - ecfair.org) HAMBURG, N.Y. -- For 12 days every August, a little more than a million people have a love affair at North America's largest county fair -- The Erie County Fair.
"This is what America is all about families, friends, fun and a fair," said Holly Smyczynski, senior marketing co-coordinator of the Erie County Fair. It's about a 20-minute drive from the Niagara border. And what a great fair it is. Having visited the fair before, I know I'll need more than a day to cover the 171st annual event which runs between Aug. 11 and 22.

RINGLING ARTICLE FROM OAKLAND NEWSPAPER---

Raised in Santa Rosa, she ran away with the circus

The Flying Caceres, the trapeze act with the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus includes Santa Rosa trapeze artist, Erica Hause, second from left, next to George Caceres, far left, whose father, Miguel, originally created the Flying Caceres. Ringling Bros. Barnum & Baily Circus. 2010 (Photo by - Heinz Kluetmeier)
By DAN TAYLOR, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Erica Hause loves living on a mile-long circus train, criss-crossing the country, but it's still nice to see friends and family.
Now in her third year with the Flying Caceres trapeze act and on her second tour with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Hause is glad to be back home in Northern California for a little while.
A former Santa Rosan, she'll appear — along with 130 other performers in “The Greatest Show on Earth” — through Sunday at Oakland's Oracle Arena and next week at HP Pavilion in San Jose.
“Most people ask how my family feels about my running away with the circus,” she joked. “My family is very proud of me, and very supportive of what I'm doing.”
Hause doesn't come from a circus family. Her father, Les, is a retired postal worker. Her mother, Linda, is a teacher's aide at Analy High School in Sebastopol. And her brother, Ross, teaches at Burbank Elementary School in Santa Rosa.
Hause got interested in trapeze while pole-vaulting at Montgomery High School, where she graduated in 1995.
“Pole vaulting translates over to trapeze really well, especially because I'm not really fast on the track,” she said. “So trapeze is a whole let better for me, because I don't have to run first. I just climb a ladder.”
Before she joined the circus, Hause taught trapeze skills at schools in San Diego and at the facility founded by author Sam Keen in Sonoma.
“I've been flying on trapeze for 10 years, first for recreation and then teaching,” she said.
Ultimately, she auditioned for the circus and got the job. Now, at 33, Hause has no intention of giving up the circus life.
“I plan to do trapeze as long as my arms are still attached to my torso,” she said.
While Hause spends much of the act throwing trapeze bars across to members of the troupe standing at other platforms, she also gets to fly a bit early in the show, and she enjoys being part of the circus.
“My most favorite thing is riding the circus train. I can't think of any other situation where a person can live on the train and move from city to city. We're in a new city almost every week,” she said.
“We have this family atmosphere, with all these people from different countries, speaking different languages. It's the most amazing life.”
This year, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is celebrating the 200th anniversary of co-founder P.T. Barnum. The circus performs in arenas now, not in old-fashioned tents, but a lot of the long and colorful history persists.
For example, when it's mealtime on the circus train, Hause doesn't go to a “dining car.”
“It's traditionally been called the pie car. That's our food car, where you can go and get a bite to eat during the train run. It's circus lingo,” she said.
“There are a lot of circus traditions. You have to watch out for those clowns on your birthday, or you might get a pie in the face.”
read the rest of the story at:http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100811/ENTERTAINMENT/100809571/1320/entertainment?Title=Raised-in-Santa-Rosa-she-ran-away-with-the-circus
UNDER THE BIG TOP
What: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents “Barnum's Funundrum.
”When and where: 7:30 tonight (Aug. 13); 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 14); 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 15) at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 18) through Aug. 20; 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Aug. 21-22 at HP Pavilion in San Jose.Admission: $15-$105.Tickets: (800) 745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
Information: www.ringling.com.

FROM THE YUCATAN---

THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CIRCUS

BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS A QUITE INTERESTING LOOKAT SOCIAL LIFE IN MEXICO!

InTheYucatan: Tuesday Night Dancing in Santiago, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. When the cool evening air rolls into Santiago Square, so do the people ..

FROM BOB COX, CANDY BUTCHER, TLAXACO, MEXICO

Dick, sorry I havent wrote lately. Been busy, heres some new photos for you, all from the king show (1966) and the URL for my new blog...."Circus Jackpots"... everybody knows one, every garden grows one!!http://circusjackpots.blogspot.com/

Bob Cox, Candy Butcher

Thanks Bob!~

Boy these are real "old timers"

That guy in the first picture looks familar! LOL

FROM BOB COX, THE CANDY BUTCHER, TLAXCALA

Dick, check this festival out... watch closely for cotton candy vendor with a gin pole.
Bob Cox
Candy Butcher
Tlaxcala




It was a carnival like atmosphere in Barrio San Sebastian on Saturday night. The Ferris Wheel was spinning, the corn-on-the-cob was hot, and the Bull was shooting fireworks off it's back...?! Watch and enjoy~!

NIK WALLENDA---

Wallenda to perform high-wire act at St. Armands Circle

HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE / 2010 / THOMAS BENDER

Nik Wallenda kneeling on the cable for the second time at the halfway point some 200 feet high Feb.4 as he walked from the One Watergate Condominium to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Sarasota.

By Billy CoxPublished: Wednesday, August 11, 2010

SARASOTA - High-wire daredevil Nik Wallenda, whose 200-foot skywalk in February left Sarasota spectators breathless, is ready to stage another public spectacle next week.But don't expect a repeat of the 600-foot suspension cable adventure that took him from the Watergate condos to the Ritz-Carlton last winter.
This time, on the evening of Aug. 20, the Sarasota resident and his wife Erendira will attempt a swaypole act in St. Armands Circle at a still bone-sloshing height of 75 feet. From a cable stretching 25 feet between a pair of flagpoles in Circle Park, the performance artists hope to complete a series of mid-air maneuvers that includes handstands and an exchange of positions.The occasion is a Discovery Channel documentary production, which will follow the couple to The Bahamas two days later. That's where Wallenda intends to break his own world record for highest bicycle ride, at Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.
“I plan to ride between the two towers at 270 feet up,” Wallenda says. “That will more than double my previous height.”
He also hopes to complete a record-setting skywalk — 2,000 feet across — during his stay at Atlantis.
The 31-year-old heir to the legendary circus dynasty says the Discovery Channel is producing a pilot for an ongoing series about Wallenda's showmanship.
“It's really exciting,” he says. “I've got 14 stunts planned that I can't even talk about because they're so crazy. And it's not per se a reality show. I'd say about 50 to 60 percent of it goes into the science behind what we do.”
The Aug. 20 public performance begins at 6 p.m. and will likely last several hours to accommodate the shooting schedule. Afterwards, Wallenda will sign posters for anyone donating to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.

INDIANA STATE FAIR---

Pricey cables stolen from New Hanover carnival

published: Wednesday, August 11, 2010By Dennis J. Wright, dwright@pottsmerc.com
NEW HANOVER — Police are currently investigating a theft of power cables that occurred during the Sassamansville Fire Company Carnival over the weekend.
Police said power cables were discovered missing from the carnival when personnel arrived on Saturday evening to open for business along Hoffmansville Road.
Officer William Moyer said the power cables were from the generator used to power the amusement rides and concession stands.
"They had been cut and removed from each of the rides and concession stands that were in place on the grounds," Moyer said. "The cables belong to Oscars Amusements and the concession owners." The carnival rides are owned by Oscars Amusements and the concessions are owned by either Otts Concessions or MJM Concessions.
More than 1,500 feet of heavy power cables were stolen, valued at $5,400. No items owned by the fire company were stolen.
Moyer said police are investigating other carnivals in the area to see if any similar incidents have happened to them.
"There were two other carnivals going on at the same time and nothing else has been reported," he said.
"Cables like this could be sold for scrap copper," he explained.
Anyone with information on the theft of the cables should contact New Hanover Township Police Department at 610-327-1150.

TONNY PETERSENS HELL DRIVERS ON TOUR

Tonny Petersen is a veteran stunt show driver.

He's been with the best Jack Kochman, Joey Chitwood to name

just a few.

This season he now has his own show touring County and State Fairs.
Be on the look out for them appearing at a Fair near you!

Justin Bellinger, stunt show clown

MONTREAL....

Canada's swinging city:

Montreal offers the ultimate Cirque Du Soleil experience

Hanging out: Montreal takes its circus performances seriously

By Carly Wilkie Steven -- 11th August 2010
Kelly Brook is apparently an ardent fan and supermodel Helena Christensen has claimed that it’s 'like nothing I have ever tried before’.So after several days of gastronomic indulgence, the prospect of trying out the same class that keeps two such well-toned specimens of physical perfection in top form was appealing.I should have realised, however, that you don’t acquire the body of a goddess without some very earthly effort.I’m talking about Jukari. It’s the latest workout collaboration between Reebok and Cirque Du Soleil and, as I was in Montreal for the inauguration of what will become an annual circus festival - Montreal Completement Cirque – it seemed a great way of experiencing in an hour what the circus artists subject themselves to on a daily and nightly basis

Swinging: Carly tried Jukari, which helps to keep circus artistes in shape

And it’s seriously tough. Our instructor, who, it turns out, is a former Olympic-medal-winning speed skater, tells us that she has never found another fitness class that delivers such a muscular workout.Given that I wake up the next morning practically unable to get out of bed, I’d say that she’s probably right.Aching limbs aside, if you’re interested in circus - or, in fact, any form of physical theatre or modern dance - then Montreal is the place for you.It even has its own circus district - La Cité Des Arts Du Cirque – home to the Cirque Du Soleil headquarters, the National Circus School and La Tohu, one of the largest venues for circus production and performance in the world.The three organisations work together closely and all have contributed in one way or another to the creation of the new festival.

Big business: Cirque Du Soleil now employs 4000 people worldwide
Central to the ethos that has driven this initiative - and seems to permeate every aspect of its execution - is the notion that circus can, and should, break free from traditional definitions and challenge preconceptions.Nowhere is this more evident than in ID. Performed by a young troupe called Cirque Eloize, this show incorporates ten different circus disciplines and combines them with hip-hop, break-dancing, BMX bikes and fiber-optic skipping ropes.The pace is frenetic and relentless and the super-smart set and funky soundtrack help make this, for me at least, the stand-out show of the festival.I am also able to catch Tabú by Welsh company NoFitState; Cabaret by Les 7 Doigts De La Main; and, of course, Cirque du Soleil’s own Totum.The latter, inevitably, is in a different league in terms of production value.

The Cirque operation is now - 26 years after it was founded by entertainer and stilt-walker Guy Laliberté - a multimillion dollar powerhouse that employs over 4,000 people worldwide.I am repeatedly told that it was the best investment the Quebec government has ever made.The time and effort that goes into producing a Cirque show is staggering.This year alone there are twenty different productions around the world, and each one will have been subject to a rigorous development process from initial concept through to finished, highly-polished product.Every artist will have three costumes custom-made for them - and everything is done by hand.They even have their heads moulded for the wigs and hats, and the milliners will often sew on every single hair in a full head individually.

Central to the ethos that has driven this initiative - and seems to permeate every aspect of its execution - is the notion that circus can, and should, break free from traditional definitions and challenge preconceptions.Nowhere is this more evident than in ID. Performed by a young troupe called Cirque Eloize, this show incorporates ten different circus disciplines and combines them with hip-hop, break-dancing, BMX bikes and fiber-optic skipping ropes.The pace is frenetic and relentless and the super-smart set and funky soundtrack help make this, for me at least, the stand-out show of the festival.I am also able to catch Tabú by Welsh company NoFitState; Cabaret by Les 7 Doigts De La Main; and, of course, Cirque du Soleil’s own Totum.The latter, inevitably, is in a different league in terms of production value.Sitting in the vast, deceptively low-tech blue-and-yellow big top, in which the Cirque spectacles are typically held, it is difficult to get a sense of this detail.A temporary exhibition of costumes at the McCord Museum Of Canadian History allows visitors to get a behind-the-scenes look at the steps involved in costume production, as well as the chance to gawp at the astonishingly realised end creations.Aside from the glitter and feats of aerial derring-do, Montreal offers a wealth of attractions of a less elevated nature.This is a French-speaking city; where 70-75 per cent of the population use French as their first language. In fact, Canada’s second largest city (after Toronto) has a decidedly European flavour.The name derives from Mount Royal, or 'mont real' – the hill at its centre, upon which Frederick Law Olmstead created his famous park in 1876.From here you can enjoy postcard-perfect views of the city, taking in the botanical gardens, the 1976 Olympic Stadium (with its disaster-prone and as-yet non-functioning retractable roof) and a few of the remaining pavilions from Expo 67.
Read more at:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1298741/Amazing-Montreal-Canadas-second-city-offers-ultimate-Cirque-Du-Soleil-experience.html#ixzz0wK9sSddJ

Circus makes 10th successful appearance

by Jeff Saunders

Nordonia Hills --

The 10th annual appearance of the Kelly Miller Circus in Sagamore Hills Township Park has come and gone, but it has again been a successful fundraiser for the Nordonia Hills Kiwanis Club.
"I think it went really well," said Bonnie Dusek, who served as circus coordinator for the club. "I thought it was a good show. They had a lot of new acts."
The circus presented two shows July 30, and Dusek said that while the first one had some vacant seats, the second was "packed."
"It usually is busier. I mean, last year it was standing room," she said.
Dusek said the proceeds and bills are still being added up, but she feels confident that the club's net profit will be about $3,000, coming at least close to 2009's record-breaking amount of about $3,100. Dusek said the circus is the club's biggest fundraiser of the year and it uses the money to aid local causes, mainly those involving children.
"I don't know what it will all be used for, but it will stay in the community," she said.
Dusek said the club uses some of the money to provide $500 scholarships to two Nordonia High School graduates every year and typically helps the Emergency Assistance Center in Northfield Village. The club also pays the way for two local students to attend a Kiwanis leadership camp in the spring.
On occasion, she said, the club will also help a specific child in need, such as by purchasing eyeglasses.
In addition, she said some area businesses every year purchase tickets, then donate them back to the club, which distributes them to people who could not otherwise attend. About 10 tickets were given to Elmcroft of Sagamore Hills for senior residents.
Dusek said that last year she discovered that a woman living near the park, who allows a line to run across her property every year to supply the circus with water, operates a day care center for low income children. She said that she was able to give the woman 15 tickets.
"This year, I gave her 29 tickets so 29 kids got to go to the circus who probably wouldn't have been able to otherwise," said Dusek.
Dusek said that as in years past, the circus would not have been possible without the cooperation of township officials.
"They're very good"

WALKING WITH LIONS

Walking with lions is a fast action pack show with 11 lions and featuring a White Lion, Lufuno. Trained by Brian McMillan with his affection training methods and positive reinforcement. He is the lion whisperer. Either a girl or a man can present the show. Completely permitted for international travel. Self contained with all props and trailer.

"CHEEKO" (BY LANE TALBURT)

CIRCUS SMIRKUS...

Zoe Ruth Sisson Silverblatt
Female Clowns Flourish At Circus Smirkus

Monday, 08/09/10 by Jane Lindholm, Vermont Public Radio News

(Lindholm) Welcome back to Vermont Edition. I'm Jane Lindholm. The circus is known for being welcoming to all kinds of people. And in terms of gender equality, the circus was often far ahead of U.S. culture at large. Women performed alongside men, some of them even ran their own circuses way back in the 1800s.
But clowning remains a male-dominated field. Lots of male clowns dress as women. Barry Lubin became famous for his character "Grandma the Clown." But wipe off the white make up, take off the big nose and shoes, and most of the clowns making people laugh between acrobatic and animal acts are men.
That's not the case this summer at Circus Smirkus, Vermont's touring youth circus.
(Clown) "I take the bait and then I give it to her and then she gives it back..."
(Lindholm) Earlier this summer in Greensboro, the Circus Smirkus clowns practiced a gag where two characters are bested by a Sasquatch for their upcoming Big Top Tour.
(Lindholm) As the group crafted the scene for maximum laughs, a careful observer might have noticed that this clown troupe looks a little different than most. Nearly half of the performers are girls. At eighteen years old, Frances Tiffin is one of the senior clowns in "Clown Alley" this year, Circus Smirkus's group of clowns.
(Tiffin) "There are not very many girl clowns. And there is a kind of, not discrimination but...if you tell a circus person that you're a clown they'll go "oh, girl clown, cool." And I'm like, yes, there haven't been a lot of girl clowns but I don't see the relevance in why that's important to me being funny. I don't want to be the "girl clown" because funny is funny."
(Lindholm) Tiffin began her circus career three years ago, thinking she would be an aerialist. But a shoulder injury brought her back down to earth, and led her into clown alley. Tiffin says initially she didn't think she was funny, but now clowning around is her life.read more:http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/88613/

MONROE COUNTY FAIR BREAKS RECORDS

— Evening News photo by BRYAN BOSCH The midway lit up at night at the Monroe County Fair.

For the second year in a row, the Monroe County Fair has accomplished one of its primary goals — breaking an attendance record.
The 63rd annual fair did just that — barely — Saturday when 20,758 people came through the gates on the final day of the seven-day fair. That brought the total attendance for the week to 179,109, which is 22 people more than last year's 179,087.
Fair board members attribute dry weather throughout the week for setting another record. A total of 52,369 people visited the fair on the last two days, pushing the count over the top.
"Friday's and Saturday's weather is what made the difference," Stan Diroff, head of the parade and grandstand shows and a board member for more than 20 years, said Sunday.
It rained just one day — on Wednesday when it sprinkled during the early afternoon. The 2009 fair had a downpour on only one day — Saturday, which reduced attendance that day to 13,904. In fact, there has been little or no rain at the fair for the past four years, shattering the myth that it "always rains during fair week."read more at:http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100809/NEWS01/708099997

The large turnouts the past two fairs have abruptly reversed a trend of declining attendance from 2002 through 2008. During those years, attendance sagged below the 150,000 mark. Officials cited heat, wet weather, a decline in tourism and even a tornado threat one year for the downturn in visitors.