Circus is back on at fairgrounds

2-day event set for June 18-19

By TONY EVANS Express Staff Writer
After losing a nonprofit sponsor and canceling performance dates, the Carson and Barnes Circus will come to Blaine County after all.
The Carey Rodeo Association will host the European-style big-top circus at the Blaine County Fairgrounds in Carey for four two-hour shows on June 18 and 19.
"It's a difficult thing booking a circus. Finding a place to park for two days is not easy," said Sasha Fry, a spokeswoman for the Carson and Barnes Circus and a former trapeze artist from Oklahoma. Fry's grandmother was a wire-walker. Her grandfather was a horseback trick rider.The family-owned Carson and Barnes Circus is celebrating its 75th anniversary tour this summer with additional dates in Pocatello and Rupert.
"Dropping two days from our tour was not an option," Fry said. "The circus travels with animals and they have to have some place to go."
Those animals include three elephants and an assortment of camels, pygmy hippos and horses and ponies. About 75 people travel with the circus, including performers.
Tickets for the circus will cost $20 for adults and $10 for kids. Elephant and camel rides will cost $6.
The circus will take place under a big-top tent and feature performances by trapeze artists, contortionists, clowns and others.
"This is kid-friendly family entertainment," Fry said.

Gymnasts join the circus

Youngsters from the North Devon Display Gymnastics Club are joined by clowns Patchy and Pepito as they practice beside the Big Top.FROM: www.northdevongazette.co.uk

Thursday, June 2, 2011

YOUNG North Devon gymnasts joined the circus for a day when they were given the opportunity to perform in the big top of Paulo’s Circus Americano in Victoria Park, Bideford, on Sunday...To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in... The youngsters put on a 15-minute show and were well received.
Charles Moore, chairman of the North Devon Display Gymnastics Club, said it all began when some of them went to the circus and were taken by the skills and techniques of the trapeze artist and how some of this might fit into gymnastics.
After discussion with the circus they were invited to perform and their coaches and display team were delighted to do so.
“This is gymnastics, the oldest form of sport, teaming up with the circus, which is the oldest form of entertainment,” he said.
The North Devon Display Gymnastics Club has a membership of 300 young people aged from one to 18 years and fully qualified coaches, said Mr Moore. They did displays and competitions, but were there for everyone to enjoy the sport and the training, not just for elite performers.
The club has a main base at Kingsley School in Bideford and also has venues in Torrington, Barnstaple and Holsworthy.
Paulo’s Circus has now moved on to Bude, where it will be entertaining until June 5, and the young gymnasts will also be performing there at 2pm this Saturday.

FLORIAN RICHTER 2010

Peeking into the past--

Ringling Bros. Circus in Pittston, PA in 1949

With Judy Minsavagefrom www.timesleader.com

June 5, 2011

A column in the June 5, 1949, issue of the Sunday Dispatch stated that Pittston was the site of an event that was the last of its kind. What was it?

1949 – 62 Years Ago
Bone Stadium was the site of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus with Pittston City and school district benefiting. A 10 per cent amusement tax was collected on $26,000 of admissions, netting the city and district $1,312.73 each. Estimates were that the circus probably grossed another $25,000 in concession sales and sideshows.

The city received $37.50 for vendor’s license, $55 for concession permits and $5 for sideshow permits.

Dolly Parton's new show sets sail in Myrtle Beach

K R #2

PART 2

KING ROYAL CIRCUS, owned by Gopher (John) and Gigi Davenport.

From Bill Prickett collection. Daily "route move slips"

.One page is "free ticket flyer" ad sheet that was in White Tops.

KING ROYAL CIRCUS, owned by Gopher (John) and Gigi Davenport.

These are "daily route slips" given to drivers, each AM, to move from "last town" to "next town". There are a total of 10 sheets.

From Bill Prickett collection.

FROM DAVID P. ORR--

Not Your Brother’s Circus: Cirque du Soleil Prepares for Return to New York

June 3, 2011

By JASON ZINOMAN, NEW YORK TIMES' ARTS BEAT SECTION
Cirque du Soleil’s “Viva Elvis” show in Las Vegas is one of 16 shows the company is performing in the United States.
The first time I saw Cirque du Soleil was in Washington in the early 1990s and it was like no circus I had ever seen. There were no lumbering animals or clown cars. These performers were whimsical, the mood oddly dreamlike and, in between the death-defying acrobatics, there were moments of minor-key theatrical grace.I loved it.
The next time I saw a Cirque show was over a decade later, in Las Vegas. The company had become a global brand and the production, “O,” reflected that. It was grand spectacle marked less by an individual style than several coups de theatre. In particular, I recall the frightening and beautiful image of a diver leaping down several stories into what seemed to be a shallow puddle but was actually a pool much deeper.
Once I started catching up on Cirque productions, I noticed that they were full of such bold gestures: the daredevils in “Kooza” leaping on top of the Wheel of Death, a spinning apparatus from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” and the giant puppets and impossibly bendy contortionists in front a snowy landscape in “Wintuk” at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. The performers still had a gentle artistry, but now married that with athletic power.
I began reporting on Cirque du Soleil in an attempt to understand the company’s evolution into one of the most overlooked success stories in popular culture today. In this article online, which will appear in print in Arts & Leisure on Sunday, I explore the company’s history and the outsized ambition and drive of its owner, Guy Laliberté. With rare access to report on Cirque’s unique artistic process, I will write next week about its latest show, “Zarkana,” which will play in three cities, including New York, where the show will open at Radio City Music Hall on June 9.
What Cirque du Soleil shows have you seen? And what awe-inspiring feats or dynamic routines have stuck with you? What show has been your favorite?

A great Western tradition - the Circus
from Mike Naughton

Since its foundation more than two hundred years ago it has remained in the hands of one and the same family the Knies whose youngest and oldest members alike take an active part in circus life. The act performed by Director Freddy Knie and his small grandson bears witness to this fact.

The Knie Circus offers the public a whole range of acts by more than 200 artists of international standing

The show remains focused, however, on the two fundamental elements in western circus tradition: the dressage and the clown.

Kelly Miller Circus swings into Cumberland County Friday, June 03, 2011

A North Starlet performs above the audience in the Kelly Miller Circus Friday evening.
By Jim Cook Jr. / The News of Cumberland County South Jersey Newspapers
HOPEWELL TWP. — The great P.T. Barnum once said: “Every crowd has a silver lining.”
But that was not the case at the Kelly Miller Circus, which came to Cumberland County to sponsor the Bridgeton Breakfast Rotary last Friday. The lively crowd was on it’s feet cheering before the show began.
Dutch Neck Village partnered with Bridgeton Breakfast Rotary to present the event on its grounds, but due to last minute scheduling complications, moved to the next field over at Sunny Slope Farms.READ MORE AT:http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2011/06/kelly_miller_circus_swings_int.html

Returning in July: Circus Vidbel tickets on sale Friday, 03 June 2011

FROM: acorn-online
The circus will be performing under the big top tent at the Saxe Middle School playing field on Friday, July 1, Saturday, July 2 and Sunday, July 3. There will be two shows daily, at 3 and 6 p.m.
Proceeds from the event will benefit youth development programs at the New Canaan YMCA and throughout the community.
Tickets will be on sale beginning the first week of June at the New Canaan YMCA Front Desk, as well as at the following local merchants: TD Bank New Canaan, Baskin Robbins New Canaan, Elm Street Books, First County Bank New Canaan, Hawthorne, Ackerly and Dorrance, LLC., and New Balance New Canaan. Prices are $15 per person in advance or $20 at the door. Children under two are free.
Last year’s circus hosted roughly 3,000 guests and raised nearly $25,000, which benefited teen programming at the New Canaan YMCA and the implementation of a recording studio at the Outback Teen Center.
Circus Vidbel — a family-run, one-ring, old-time circus — has been performing across the United States for more than 20 years.
New performances this year will include the Zamperla Brothers Bareback Riders — showcasing equestrian acrobats — Chinese vase jugglers and a “nail-biting” archery act. Favorite acts from last year that will be returning include aerialist Susan Vidbel in a breathtaking cloud swing and lyra displays, the Darnell Sisters magic and dog act, Risley juggling and the Rola-Bola balancing board act.
Children will be able to play in the ring prior to the show. There will also be concessions, music and plenty of traditional circus laughter brought on by the Circus Vidbel clowns. The show is appropriate for families with children of all ages and no wild animals are part of the performance.

James Arness, Iconic 'Gunsmoke' Lawman, Dead at 88

June 3rd 2011-- 02:30PM
James Arness, a bigger-than-life actor who kept the peace as Marshal Matt Dillon on 'Gunsmoke' for its 20-year run, died Friday of natural causes at his home in Brentwood, Calif., his family told the Los Angeles Times. He was 88.

'Gunsmoke' debuted on CBS in 1955 and ran until 1975, in the process making Arness one of the more enduring stars on television and the Matt Dillon character one of its most beloved and trusted.

The 6 foot 7 Arness towered over the cast, including Dillon's deputy, Chester, played by Dennis Weaver. Other supporting stars included Amanda Blake as Kitty and Milburn Stone as Doc Adams.

By the time Arness got the part of Dillon, he had been a WWII combat veteran and appeared in several films, most notably the science-fiction classics 'Them!' and 'The Thing From Another World,' in which


The Minneapolis native's younger brother, actor Peter Graves, who died last October, encouraged him to get into acting. He cut his Western teeth in four John Wayne film, including 'Hondo' and 'Big Jim McLain.'

It was Wayne that recommended Arness for 'Gunsmoke' and an on-air endorsement from the film great himself. "I knew there was only one man to play in it, James Arness," Wayne told viewers (watch video below). "He's a young fella and may be new to some of you. But I've worked with him, and I predict he'll be a big star. So you might as well get used to him, like you've had to get used to me."

The role of Marshal Dillon proved a complex one and became a focus of the show, but Arness is said to have pushed producers to move the focus off him and onto the large ensemble cast.
read more at:
http://www.popeater.com/2011/06/03/james-arness-dies-gunsmoke-matt-dillon/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%7C215034

Ice Skating Polar Bears

from: Mike Naughton

Elephant clears heavy tornado debris
[CNN: 5-31-2011]

The Greatest Show on Earth both intimate and awesome

The Uriases continue the family tradition of daredevil stunts in a motorcycle globe in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Zing Zang Zoom Gold Edition show, coming to San Angelo next week.

By Becca Nelson Sankey Special to the Standard-Times San Angelo Standard Times June 2, 2011
SAN ANGELO, Texas — When Jodie Urias says she ran away to join the circus, she's not joking.
In the 1980s, Urias attended a circus show in her home state of Arizona and — like most audience members — was in awe of the performances.
"I had gone with my nephews and my co-workers, and I was like, 'Oh, I want to do that' (about) everything that was in the air," she said. "It was one of those things where a couple of the girls I was working with were a little bit catty and said, 'You can't do that.'"
What Urias lacked in experience, she made up for in determination. The next day, Urias obtained the circus' route, then took time off from work so she and a friend could drive to the circus' next performance destination.
Upon arriving, Urias discovered that a circus member happened to be looking for a partner, and they were willing to train Urias.
"That's not common for somebody to just walk in like that and have somebody willing to teach you," Urias said. "I was smart enough that I knew what I wanted to do, and I was naive enough not to know there was an element of danger because that's the kind of world we live in. I was fortunate to have met the right kind of people to help me learn what I needed to learn. "
Urias made a career out of being a trapeze artist for the circus and eventually joined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, where she performs with her husband and in-laws, a family famous for doing motorcycle stunts in a steel globe 16 feet wide.

read the rest of the story at:http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/jun/02/the-greatest-show-on-earthboth-intimate-and/

Circus Setup Day For Cole Brothers Circus

By Mel Fabrikant

Paramuspost.com

Thursday, June 02, 2011
There’s always something exciting happening when the circus comes to town.

In this case, it is the Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars setting up at the Garfield High School Athletic Field. Sponsored by the Garfield Local PBA #46, the circus arrived in town late last night. By this morning, the huge brightly colored tent was erected and visible from many points. They had rolled in from Kingston, NY the night before to play this four day spot. Sunday night, the tent will come down and the circus will be on the move again.
Meeting Dan Baltulonis, Senior Marketing Director, we discussed circuses, their acts and travelling. Dan took www.ParamusPost.com on a tour of the facilities as they look before the show is ready. This included a sleeping Bengal tiger, waiting elephants and ponies, dogs, llamas, the huge cannon and some of the props before we went into the spacious indoor tent which afforded almost completely unobstructed views.
The ticket office was open (10 AM – 8 PM) and a slow but steady stream of wishful circus-goers were seen at the window. With shows starting Thursday and Friday at 4:30 and 7:30, Saturday at 1:30, 4:30 an 7:30 and concluding on Sunday at 1:30 and 4:30, there are plenty of choices.
Cole Bros Circus of Stars is owned by John Pugh, a longtime friend, who stays in the winterquarters these days. The circus claim to fame is that it is the World’s largest circus under the Big Top and has been in existence since 1884. John and I do not go back that far!www.gotothecircus.com , www.tickets.com or www.freekidstickets.com will connect you!