THE BALLOON MAN

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

CIRCUS MODEL BUILDERS AT THE NEW YORK STATE FAIR FROM STEVE KEELER

NEW YORK STATE FAIR FROM STEVE KEELER

NATION HARD CRAB DERBY---CRISFIELD, MD

Derby attracts record crowd

From left, Woody Rybyzynske, Noah Bradshaw, center and Dan O'Connor, all of Crisfield, load crabs into the starting gates during the Crab Derby in Crisfield.

By Deborah Gates • Staff Writer • September 8, 2010
CRISFIELD, MD -- "Hurricane" Hazel swept through this waterman's town Saturday, kicking up applause, cheers and anticipation among fans who watched in awe as she claimed her 15th crab-picking victory at the annual National Hard Crab Derby.It was an appropriate highlight of Labor Day weekend events at the 63rd annual National Hard Crab Derby.

Hazel Cropper, affectionately having earned the nickname "Hurricane" from years of speed as a professional Crisfield crab picker, out-labored seven other contestants by picking 4.5 pounds of crab meat from the shells in a flat 15 minutes.read more at: http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20100908/SH01/9080392/-1/SH

"POOBAH"

Poobah, fire-eating dwarf

Little Pete Terhurne waiting for his cue

photo: Prof. James Mundie

I just heard that Pete Terhune (Poobah) is in a nursing home in Brandon, FL.

I'm going to try to find out more as

soon as possible.

LANE TALBURT VIDEO FROM BRISBANE, AU

FROM SCOTT BUNDY.........

The Sights and Sounds of the Circus

with the Sarasota Orchestra Brass Quintet

When: Saturday, September 11, 2011 Times: 2:00 p.m.

Where: Historic Asolo Theater

Contact: Tickets and Information : 941.360.7399

Price(s): $10

Description: Step right up for an afternoon of music and museum fun as members of the Sarasota Orchestra fill the Historic Asolo Theater with the music of the big top. From the traditional circus parade anthem Entry of the Gladiators to songs about jugglers, clowns and dancing bears, circus fans of all ages will be bouncing in their seats.
Following the concert, the music continues in the Ringling Circus Museum where the treasures and traditions of the circus world are yours to discover and explore.
All for just one low ticket price: $10 includes concert and museum admission.

GREAT FREDERICK, MD FAIR

Great Frederick Fair opens in 10 daysBeer garden, country music star Merle Haggard featured

September 07, 2010

Workers were busy recently erecting a large aluminum-framed tent near the 4-H animal barns at the Frederick fairgrounds in preparation for the Great Frederick Fair.

Photo by Sam Yu

By Ike Wilson News-Post Staff

Within 10 days, 44 acres will be transformed into a city within a city for the 148th Great Frederick Fair.

Fairs come and go, but what will never change for The Great Frederick Fair is its tradition to preserve and display the best of agriculture in Frederick County, said James S. Grimes, fair board president.
"When you've invested a year of preparation, it's always an exciting time as the fair approaches," he said.
Grimes recently returned from a fair in West Virginia to see if there were any ideas or resources to incorporate into Frederick's fair.
"It's good to know what others are doing to gauge what we are doing, but from what we've seen so far, we are doing fine," Grimes said.
This year, for the first time in many years, beer will be available in a controlled atmosphere that is monitored and enforced by police officers, Grimes said.
The decision to allow alcohol was made after deliberation and consultation with other fairs and is a revenue stream that fairs and municipalities throughout the country have turned to, Grimes said. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=109580

BY THE NUMBERS

2009 Great Frederick Fair
213,000 attended
18,000 competitive exhibits
200 commercial vendors and food concessionaires
28,000 attended grand stand events
300-plus events held annually at the fairground

Aerial photographs were taken of the fairgrounds Sunday, the busiest day of the fair, to help analyze traffic patterns.
State Fair: Still room to grow

By Leslie Reed WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Wednesday September 8, 2010LINCOLN — Even after clicking more than 300,000 people through the gates of the new fairgrounds in Grand Island, Nebraska State Fair organizers say their event has more room to grow.
Fair officials reported Tuesday that 309,400, attended the first fair to be held outside Lincoln in more than a century. Although attendance fell short of the 367,203 who turned out for last year's final fair in Lincoln, it was the second largest turnout in the past decade.
While curiosity about the new location likely bumped up this year's attendance, State Fair Board member Tam Allan of Lincoln said he is optimistic that future fairs could attract crowds of an equal size or larger.
He explained that many people attend State Fairs as participants — some have children showing livestock, others have submitted a pie or a quilt for exhibits, still others are staffing a commercial exhibit booth, and many are selling food in the concessions area.
The 2010 fair had more commercial exhibits and more livestock exhibits than usual, Allan said. Most vendors reported excellent sales and gave high reviews to the Nebraska event.
“I imagine those people — and their friends — will be back,” Allan said.
The State Fair was moved from its historic location in Lincoln after the state decided to use the former fairgrounds for a research park for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Considering the fair's new location in a less-populous part of the state, fair officials did not expect to equal 2009 attendance figures. However, they were pleased to exceed 2008 attendance figures by about 260 people.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

FROM AUSTRALIA......

Circus stars shine bright

BY FLORA CAUCHI

07 Sep, 2010

Sultry: Monique West and Dakota Weber in the lira act, where they display strength and flexibility by ``posing'' in a suspended metal hoop. Picture: Gene Ramirez

COMBINING traditional circus tricks with a South American flair under one big top Webers Circus has something for everyone.

Owners Natalie and Rudy Webers, who also toured The Great Moscow Circus, travel with their daughters Dakota, Wonona and Wonita and the rest of the crew. Their family arrived in Australia from Germany in 1972 and go back six generation in circus.

One of the main attractions of the show is the Russian swings in which eight performers fly off a heavy swing by doing somersaults and other tricks, landing on a crash mat.

Monique West, who does the Russian swings, the silks act and the dance sets, started assisting backstage when she was a five-year-old but first stepped into the arena as a performer at the age of 12.``I always wanted to do the flying trapeze 'cause they looked like fun, so I started with that,'' the 21-year-old said.

The youngest performer in the Russian swings act is Wonona Webers, 9, who has been travelling with the circus since she was only two days old.

West said Wonona is ``amazing''.``She flies off the swing and lands on a chair high up on a pole.

''The show also has a wheel of death act, dance performances, South American clowns, rascally miniature horses, fox terriers and more.

Webers Circus is on Galston Road next to the Aquatic Centre until September19.

Tickets cost from $14 to $30. Details: weberscircus.com or 0448247287.

FROM MONGOLIA.........

Russian and Japanese Circus Artists to Perform in UB

Written by E.Bayannasan

Tuesday, September 07, 2010.

Interview with D.Zorigt, who is director of the “New Circus Center”:-

What type of trained animals will come from Russia?
Circus artists from Russia and Japan will perform to start from September 10. There will be included aerialist, wing-bear, so many gooses, wolf, and chicken and so on in the performance. As well as, clown from Japan will attend in the circus concert, was named “Circus and Animals” by us. Numerous Mongolian circus artists will take part also.
- I listened about Mongolian circus artists will go to perform in Russia too. Is it true?

Yes. Mongolian team including over 30 circus artists will host a full-version concert entitled “Circus of Blue Sky” in the circuses of Russian cities such as Kemerovo, Khabarovsk, Novokuznetsk and Vladivostok. Last August, we concluded an agreement with a RosGosCircus about it. Mongolian circus artists will go to Russia on the end of September.
- For the first time, which country, will they perform?

First audiences of the concert, which is to host in Russia, will be Mongolians. We will host this concert in the National Circus of Mongolia only once on September 8, within the framework of the Day for Culture and Arts Worker http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5285&Itemid=45

"FUNUNDRUM" REVIEW

Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey celebrate 200th Birthday

By Melissa Hoon Daily Titan Assistant Opinion Editor

Published: September 07, 2010
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey celebrated the late P. T. Barnum’s 200th birthday in Southern California this summer at the biggest circus yet: “Barnum’s FUNundrum.” The show used old circus elements to honor Barnum and new technology to create a show that was “bigger and better” than ever before, according to Nicole Feld, the event’s co-producer.
At the Honda Center in Anaheim July 28, “Barnum’s FUNundrum” seemed to have something for everyone. Circus fun started before the show began, as children and their parents crowded around gates outside the arena to watch elephants play with hay and car tires.

Once inside, circus-goers were part of the All Access Pre-show, where they could try on costumes, learn dance routines and walk beneath performers who juggled while on stilts. From this point on, the audience was completely engaged in the FUNundrum.
After the Pre-show, the ringmaster introduced Barnum Award Winners ? children who have done good for their community, like first place winner, Joseph Mechado, 13, of Upland, who helped raise $30,000 for charities with Biking for America by riding his bicycle from California to Washington, D.C., in 39 days.
Next, a red,white and blue clad elephant made a lap around the floor as the National Anthem was sung, while live music was performed. The show opened with a bright, sparkly and lively ensemble of mermaids, dancing dragons and warriors, and acrobats jumping off of bendable balance beams.
The show went on with notable acts such as The Sky-High Ice Gliders (a high wire act), Mighty Meetal (a man who lifts over 1,500 pounds) and Daniel Raffo, the tiger trainer (who performs in a cage with eight 700 pound tigers from all over the world).

While the show was nothing short of spectacular, it failed to prove how it was “bigger and better” than previous shows. Besides several motorcyclists riding upside-down together in a circular steel cage, no act left me gaping in surprise. Yes, the three Asian female “body benders,” or contortionists, made me think my yoga classes are a piece of cake, but I’d expect to see that act at a circus, so of course my eyeballs didn’t pop from their sockets in amazement.
Children ran in circles in amazement at their seats ? and not because of the adrenaline from their sugar highs from eating scores of cotton candy and popcorn ? but because the circus is made for them to lure at in awe at their tender, innocent ages (far from my old age of 22).
Feld also said there is something for everyone at the circus. While that might be true, that “something” for everyone will spark a wide range of reactions. For example, when the highly anticipated Baby Barack, a 1-year-old elephant, walked a lap around the ring with his mother, I thought, “That’s it?” But surely children screamed aloud, “Look at that cute, tiny baby elephant! He’s so cool, Mom! Let’s try to pet him after the show!”
The circus is called “The Greatest Show On Earth,” but I can think of many shows that are greater than the FUNundrum, starting with The Beatles’ LOVE Show in Las Vegas. But again, perhaps that’s because I’m in college and not elementary school.
http://www.dailytitan.com/2010/09/07/circus-review/