produced by Carden International Circus

Perani Event Center January 13-17, 2011 Flint, MI
Lansing Center January 20-23, 2011 Lansing, MI
Dow Event Center February 3-6, 2011 Saginaw, MI

50 exotic animals die in Russian circus fire

PTI, Dec 28, 2010,

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

MOSCOW: More than 50 animals, including parrots, monkeys and chinchillas, have died in a circus fire in Russia's second largest city of St Petersburg.
The fire broke out yesterday when the exotic animals had been on display in an out-building close to the circus, a circus spokeswoman was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
Twenty-three parrots, 10 rabbits, six chinchillas, four canary birds, four monkeys, two iguanas, two ferrets, a snake and a skunk died in the fire, the report said.
However, there were no human casualties. It took the fire-fighters about two hours to put out the blaze.
Read more: 50 exotic animals die in Russian circus fire - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/50-exotic-animals-die-in-Russian-circus-fire-/articleshow/7177949.cms#ixzz19P5euFZ7

Tent is everything as Zoppe circus stops in ChandlerFor Zoppé Italian Circus, 'The tent is our life'

Michael Schennum / The Arizona Republic Acrobat Indiana Pintado, 15, practices outside the The Zoppe Family Circus tent at the Chandler Center for the Arts on Wednesday.
by Weldon B. Johnson - Dec. 27, 2010 The Arizona Republic

"Everybody helps put the tent up; everybody helps take it down," Giovanni Zoppé said. "The tent is our life. The most important part of a circus to a circus performer is the tent. Without our tent, we don't work."
Zoppé is a sixth-generation circus performer. Once the show starts, he becomes Nino the Clown.
He is also the show's producer and booking agent, overseeing the business of the traveling circus. Since Zoppé revived the show about three years ago, the Zoppé Italian Family Circus performs about 15 times per year (it's hoping to add about five more engagements). For that to happen, Zoppé has to account for details ranging from straw and kiln-dried wood shavings for the animals to electrical and water hookups for the performers' RVs to making sure they know the quickest routes to local hospitals in case of emergency.
But for three days before the show, his most important job is overseeing the raising of the tent. Despite a fall while performing 20 years ago that left him in a coma for four days, Zoppé, 44, still helps set tent poles and climbs on top to secure the rigging.
"A lot of circuses have a separate crew to put up the tent," Zoppé said. "Then, the circus people come in and walk into the ring. We don't do that. That's not true circus."
The Zoppé family members are true circus people.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/2010/12/27/20101227chandler-zoppe-family-circus1225.html#ixzz19P7BUusF

Hold your breath... the circus is here!

Members of The Grand China National Acrobatics Circus acknowledge cheers from the crowd at the Big Dome on Christmas Day.
FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo (The Philippine Star)
December 28, 2010
The first time I watched a circus in nineteen-forgotten, I held my breath for so long while the trapeze artists were swinging above our heads that I almost turned blue from asphyxiation. I heaved a sigh of relief only when the two artists safely connected with each other in mid-air, thanking heavens that neither of them missed a beat, otherwise…
Last Christmas Day, we trooped to the Araneta Coliseum to watch Splendide: The Grand China National Acrobatics Circus and I still gasped in childlike awe at the acts that took my breath away and, although I kept my fingers crossed praying that the artists would land where they should, how they should (read: flat on their feet and not on their faces), I enjoyed the show without turning blue.
Like Spider-Men swinging on two poles, not missing a beatI could use all the clichés to describe the acrobats — poetry in motion, grace under pressure, style under stress, death-defying and, that’s it, breath-taking. The Chinese acrobats were all that and more.

12 female bikers cap their act in peacock formation
The show opened with what may be aptly called Feathers Dance with the performers dressed in bright pink, swaying this way and that way in perfect synchrony, forming a kaleidoscopic wonder to cap the act. What a fitting intro! Applause!Note: Splendide: The Grand China National Acrobatics Circus runs at the Araneta Coliseum until Jan. 2, 2011. read the rest of the story at:http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=643155&publicationSubCategoryId=70

A Memphis Circus Family from the late 1800s

Posted by Vance Lauderdale on Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 9:00 PM This unusual photograph turned up on eBay recently, purporting to show a group of circus performers from the late 1800s. What made this photo especially interesting was that it was taken by a Memphis photographer named Day, who had a studio on Main Street.

Nothing more is known — not yet, anyway — about this interesting family (if they indeed are a family — where is their mother??). What was their act? Trapeze artists? Jugglers? Strong man, with assistants? It's hard to say from their outfits.
I really like the smaller boy's crazy-striped costume, and if you look closely, you'll see that the dapper man (the father?) is wearing a shirt with a rather curious design on the front, which is similar to (but not exactly the same as) the shirt worn by the older boy.

If anyone has any information about these performers, I'm sure you'll let me know.
http://www.memphisflyer.com/AskVanceBlog/archives/2010/12/27/a-memphis-circus-family-from-the-late-1800s

TONIGHT!

.Clown Hall of Fame & American Pickers UNITE!

The International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center to be featured on History Channel’s top rated “American Pickers”Monday, December 27, 2010, 9:00pm Eastern, 8:00 pm Central Time.Check local listings for other times.
Always looking for new and different venues to find unique and rare treasures, the American Pickers found a perfect match at the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center in its new home in Baraboo, WI.
Guided by Executive Director Greg DeSanto and his wife Karen, Hosts Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe were given a fast paced slapstick indoctrination into the world of clowning at the only museum in the world devoted exclusively to the preservation of the art of the clown.
Digging through the vast collection of non clown related circus oddities the American Pickers discovered a unique story behind each item. They also gained new knowledge of the vast circus history that defines Baraboo, WI.

at the ST PETE TIMES FORUM

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Fully Charged

Dates and Times:Wednesday, January 05, 2011 7:30 PM

Thursday, January 06, 2011 7:30 PM

Friday, January 07, 2011 7:30 PM

Saturday, January 08, 2011 11:30 AM

Saturday, January 08, 2011 3:30 PM

Saturday, January 08, 2011 7:30 PM

Sunday, January 09, 2011 1:00 PM

Sunday, January 09, 2011 5:00 PM
On Sale: Now
Ticket Prices: $15.00, $20.00 and $25.00. VIP packages and specialty seating are priced at $35.00, $55.00 and $85.00.

THE COSTUME DEPARTMENT

HOXIE BROS CIRCUS 1978 PROGRAM PART 1

Please be sure and click on each page to enlarge & read!

HOXIE BROS. CIRCUS PROGRAM, 1978 PART 1

( TO BE CONTINUED TOMMORROW!)

ODDS & ENDS FROM THE PAST

Circus City lives up to its name again in 2010
By Tim Damos, News Republic

December 27, 2010
Last year, the Baraboo News Republic picked Circus World Museum's 50th anniversary as the top story of 2009.
Although the museum isn't on the BNR's list this year, a different story connecting the circus city with its magical past kicks off our countdown to the top news story of 2010.
10: ‘Send in the clowns'
In January, the News Republic reported that an international organization dedicated to historic preservation was moving its headquarters to Baraboo and had picked some local clown as its new leader.
Think they picked the wrong man?
Think again.
The aforementioned organization was the International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center, which moved its memorabilia from a Milwaukee-based storage unit to an office in downtown Baraboo.
The non-profit then selected Baraboo entertainer Greg DeSanto, one half of a husband and wife clown team, as its new executive director.
If you haven't yet had a chance to visit the new location, you might want to tune into the History Channel tonight when the International Clown Hall of Fame will be featured on the show "American Pickers" at 8 p.m.

Big Dome circus features Beijing Olympics acrobats

(The Philippine Star) December 27, 2010

MANILA, Philippines – Two years after the spellbinding and dramatic display of music, fireworks, dancing and pageantry during the Beijing Olympics, the same group of acrobats is in town to regale Filipino audiences with their jaw-dropping performances.
Fifty-two members of the famed Grand China National Acrobatic Troupe recently planed in the country for a series of performances billed as Splendide: The Grand China National Acrobatics Circus at the Araneta Coliseum.
The show is ongoing and will run until Jan. 2. For ticket inquiries, contact Ticketnet at 911-5555.
These are the same acrobats that tasked by Beijing’s Sports Commission to perform at the “Bird’s Nest”, the national stadium known as such because of its steel lattice construction. During that time, acrobats and dancers from the Grand China National Troupe executed flips and other gymnastic feats on the surface of a multi-story globe in front of more than 90,000 fans at the “Bird’s Nest” and four billion more around the world. It was reported that the choreographed show took seven years to plan.
From the world stage to the Big Dome, Filipinos get the rare chance to experience these eye-catching and amazing numbers this holiday season.

Fair Trouble: Former director faces charges involving culture of ‘entitlement’

Monday, December 27, 2010, 5:00

By The Post-Standard Editorial Board
On the closing night of the New York State Fair, former director Peter Cappuccilli and his family used to take a turn on the go-kart course near the Grandstand. It seemed like harmless fun — and a deserved capstone for weeks worth of unrelenting work.
Today, however, Cappuccilli stands accused of abusing his position for personal advantage. He faces charges of criminal corruption and official misconduct. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo claims that among other things, the former fair director arranged self-serving backroom deals for lavish parties, including the weddings of his two daughters, using state resources and trying to hide the incriminating evidence.
Cuomo’s case is based on a scathing report issued earlier this year by state Inspector General Joseph Fisch. According to Fisch, Cappuccilli personally benefited by some $78,000, and the fair misspent $860,000 between the time of his appointment by Gov. George Pataki in 1995 and his retirement in 2006.
It’s a painful stumble for Cappuccilli, 60, who pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Geddes town Court last Monday. Few would argue with his successful record managing the fair’s staff of 75 and $15 million annual budget. He set the fair’s first million-plus attendance records in 2001 and 2002; made the fair self-supporting while attracting more than $2 million in corporate sponsorships; increased revenue from $8.5 million to $16 million. Cappuccilli listened and responded to suggestions, incorporating good ideas as he went along.
But Cappuccilli also may have succumbed to an inherent temptation, one well-expressed earlier this year by his successor, Dan O’Hara: “the sense of entitlement was systemic.”
Starting with the nod from a political mentor, continuing with the annual distribution of complimentary tickets, hiring relatives and awarding no-bid contracts, the fair director can exercise powers akin to a feudal lord.
The fair director has an advisory board to provide advice and feedback. But the board hasn’t met for years. Cuomo wants a reactivated board with experienced, trained members to help keep a fair director on track — even though it lacks the power to set or veto policy.
Thanks in part to Cappuccilli, the state fair today is the nation’s 13th largest. Directors of other large fairs are answerable to experienced governing boards. It’s time for New York to consider a similar restructuring of its own state fair.

Yerevan State Circus to start Christmas performances from December 25
December 25, 2010

from:http://news.am/eng/news/42947.html

By tradition, along with its own pre-holiday performances, Yerevan State Circus presents Christmas performances of their Russian colleagues to the Armenian audience on New Year’s Eve. However, according to an Armenian circus actor, Russian acrobats will not perform to the Armenian audience this year.
On December 25-30, Yerevan State Circus will play “Christmas performances”, called “Circus miracles” to the audience. Only Armenian actors will play in the performances. The ticket price will range in from AMD 1000 to AMD 2000. The New Year performances will be played from January 3-13.

Despite ban, elephants still tradable cattle in Haryana

Dec 25, 2010
CHANDIGARH: Despite a ban on elephant trading, jumbos can be bought and sold in Haryana thanks to loopholes in the state's Village Cattle Fair Act (1970).
The act, amended twice, continues to have elephants on its list of tradable animals at rural cattle fairs.
The state act violates the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) that puts elephants in the protected category and bars their domestication. The definition of tradable cattle in Haryana includes buffaloes, camels, cows, donkeys, elephants, horses and mules.
The WWF considers the Indian elephant - numbered around 25,000 - endangered. The Asian Elephant Specialist Group, however, declared it endangered in 1996.
The procedure for trading is simple. The traders need to register themselves at cattle fairs, pay a fee, sell elephants and pay some commission to the fair organisers.
Read more: Despite ban, elephants still tradable cattle in Haryana - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Despite-ban-elephants-still-tradable-cattle-in-Haryana/articleshow/7160230.cms#ixzz198OnKMXS