IOWA STATE FAIR

DAY 1

Kids get to see Great American Circus with donated tickets

Ben Fogletto

resorts circus

Children and parents watch the circus performers Saturday in Atlantic City.
By BRIAN IANIERI Staff Writer

pressofAtlanticCity.com

ATLANTIC CITY — There were smiles, laughs and some death-defying stunts underneath the big-top tent Saturday afternoon at the Great American Circus, the summertime circus being held on the Resorts Casino-Hotel parking lot.
On Saturday, there was a worthy cause, too.
The Steel Pier donated $20,000 worth of tickets to Saturday’s show that went to eight area nonprofits, said Sharon Franz, marketing director for the Steel Pier.
Roxanne Grant, a volunteer at the circus, said several hundred children attended the circus, which features acts such as “The Wheel of Death” and the “Ukrainian Hurricane,” a female performer who twirled more than a dozen hula hoops.
“We just wanted to give everyone an opportunity to enjoy a day at the circus who might not have been able to enjoy it,” Grant said.
Grant said recipients included the ARC of Atlantic County, FACES (Family, Advocacy, Care, Education, Support), 21 Down, YAP Inc. (Youth Advocate Programs) in Atlantic City, the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City, the Covenant House, the Atlantic City Rescue Mission and CASA.
The Resorts parking lot along Boardwalk and North Carolina Avenue has been the site of three circuses — the Great American Circus, the Cirque Polynesian, and Cirque Risque — since July.

ATLANTIC CITY

GREAT AMERICAN CIRCUS PICTURES

#2 Ben Fogletto

Audience members watch the circus performers Saturday.

#3 Ben Fogletto
Children watch the circus performers Saturday at Resorts Atlantic City

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Performer Olex Kartukov of the Ukraine clowns around with audience members before the show Saturday.

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The audience arrives Saturday at Resorts Atlantic City.

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Mayor Lorenzo Langford stands in the center ring with ringmaster Nicolas Cornell Saturday at Resorts Atlantic City.

HistoryMobile Transports Fairgoers to Civil War

'Museum on Wheels' recognizes the Civil War's sesquicentennial and reminds Arlington residents about their state's past.

By Katy Nally August 13, 2011Stepping into the HistoryMobile offers much more than a reprieve from the humid fairgrounds – it transports viewers to a tumultuous time in Virginia’s past, and reminds residents about how their state endured the Civil War.
The initial room sets the scene, as a wavering voice comes on the loud speaker, and is quickly followed by gunshots. The speaker is reading an actual letter a Civil War soldier wrote in his final minutes. Fairgoers who checked out the HistoryMobile this week called that room an instant favorite.
“The gunshots put you right in the middle of it,” said Michael Flack, adding that he liked how the trailer was interactive.
“Kids would really enjoy it,” said Stephanie Mordensky.
Indeed, a group of boys wasted no time adding their own enthusiasm to the gunshots, pretending to be soldiers and pretending to shoot at each other. But they quieted down when the letter was read aloud. After the lights came back on, Rusty Nix, a tour guide for the Virginia Tourism Corp. explained, “No matter where you came from or who you were, everyone was affected by the Civil War.”
Nix said the purpose of the HistoryMobile was to show people “how the Civil War impacted all of Virginia.”

read more:http://ballston.patch.com/articles/historymobile-transports-fairgoers-to-civil-war

The Star Family Circus: 'Every Day is an Adventure'

Circus group performs at the 2011 Arlington County Fair.

Oscar Garcia jumps rope over 30-feet in the air while inside the spinning “Giant Space Wheel” during a performance by the Star Family Circus at the Arlington County Fair Thursday, August 11, 2011. Credit: Madeline Marshall

By Madeline Marshall

August 12, 2011

A loud “ohhh” of excitement erupted from the crowd Thursday when the Star Family Circus performer reminded everyone the stunts they were about to see were “very, very dangerous.”
In the next hour the audience watched a woman suspended 20 feet in the air by her hair, a young woman speed on a motorcycle inside a small, spherical cage, and a man jump rope while inside a spinning ring over 30 feet above them.
It was just another Thursday for the Garcia and Morales families.
“I was born into this. There’s nothing else I see myself doing,” said third-generation circus performer Celeste Garcia.
Garcia, 25, performs with her father’s Star Family Circus act, which is in town for the Arlington County Fair.
“My parents were performers and decided to open their own show,” Garcia said.
Based in Sarasota, Fla., the two-family act travels 10 months out of the year across the United States and Canada.
Lisa Morales, 15, started performing when she was 4 years old and has been traveling with the Star Family Circus for the past two years.
“I was basically born into the circus… I love to perform,” Morales said.
Morales performed a hula hoop routine and a gymnastics routine on a rope 20 feet in the air.
Her mother, Estrella Morales, performed a stunt she’s been doing for two decades: performing while suspended by a hook attached to her hair.
Celeste Garcia performed with Tony, a miniature pony, and with her father has she sped on a motorcycle in a caged sphere while he stood in the middle.
Her father, Oscar Garcia, also amazed the crowd by jumping inside and on top of an open ring that spun over 30 feet in the air.
“It’s a very different life. It’s random and unexpected,” Celeste Garcia said.“Every day is an adventure."read more:http://ballston.patch.com/articles/the-star-family-circus-every-day-is-an-adventure#photo-7349804

FROM SCOTLAND--

Circolombia gives circus tricks a great gritty spin for Edinburgh show

Fringe review: Exuberant young Colombian troupe Circolombia inject some modern-day vitality into their performance with Intimo Urban.

By Michael MacLennan

14 August 2011

Over from South America for the Fringe, Circolombia introduce a healthy dose of youthful energy to this year’s line-up at the Assembly Hall.
Any sort of modern-day update of circus entertainment which is imbued it with streetwise suss is bound to bear comparisons with the spellbinding productions of Cirque du Soleil.
Circolombia can’t compete budget-wise (at the moment), but thankfully they instead play to their strengths, providing something that’s rough and ready, gritty, and abundant with an energy that barely dissipates across the entire hour of Intimo Urban.
Prime to the show’s success is the superb soundtrack, a mélange of South American sounds brought firmly up to date with swelling electronics and pumping hip hop beats, vital enough that purchasing a CD for a miserly £6 after the show seemed a complete no-brainer.
The performers themselves are highly impressive, a sextet of muscled males variously being flung onto the shoulders of their peers while somehow retaining balance and remaining upstanding. (A visit to the gym felt well overdue once the lights had gone up.)
Also on offer was hula hoop and rope-skipping tricks, a bit of trapeze, some expert balancing on a man’s head (which you may see in the video above), dancing and even a man singing/rapping while dragging his torso around the stage in a barrel. (A bit like a tin-can human/slug hybrid.) There was a couple of small slip-ups, but nothing to take away too much from the overall effect.
Intimo Urban is a great audio and visual spectacle, and taking place at midday is a fun and emboldening way to start off your day, as long as you can then square yourself with how sloth-like you’ll feel when indulging yourself in the spirit of the Fringe during the rest of your day, afternoon and evening.FROM: http://entertainment.stv.tv/the-x-factor/news/266081-circolombia-gives-circus-tricks-a-great-gritty-spin-for-edinburgh-show/

LAST STOP IN NORTHWEST OHIO

One-ring wonder resounds with local circus enthusiastsKelly Miller packs them in at Sylvania Twp.

Tigers obey the commands of their trainer, rolling around and impressing audience members during their performance at the Kelly Miller Circus in Sylvania Township..

BY MARK ZABORNEY

The bleachers were packed and the air properly sultry Friday inside the big tent staked in a Sylvania Township field.
The circus was in town -- "America's One Ring Wonder," the program's headline read, "Kelly Miller Circus, owned and operated by John Ringling North II.
Ben Eisel helps his daughter Lilli Eisel get a big bite out of her snow cone during a refreshing pause to the circus excitement.
The audience, age diverse and children all, marveled at the tigers and elephants and gasped at the aerialists and acrobats inside the big top at Brint and Centennial roads.
Few showed the enthusiasm of Katie Donatini, 25, of Sylvania, who was about 10 when she last attended a circus, and a sterile indoor event at that.
She leaned forward as tiger master Ryan Holder led five cats through their paces -- jumping over each other; lying side by side, stock still, a living striped carpet; walking and hopping forward and backward on their hind legs.
Then, on command, the tigers rolled over and over around the circus ring.
"They're still rolling! Oh, my God!" Ms. Donatini said to her aunt, Carol Connolly Pletz.
"I'm out-of-my-mind excited," she said during a break in the action. "I love the animals."
Her aunt said, "This is like the old-time circus where they came to town and set up a tent."

Guest ringmaster John Robinson Block, longtime circus enthusiast, thanks the Kelly Miller Circus for pitching their Big Tent in this corner of Northwest Ohio.

Gabe Anteau, 8, of Sylvania -- who after his face painting resembled Spider-Man -- is a circus watching veteran who most enjoys the acrobats.
"I kind of like the way they move around and how they fly," he said.
Afternoon and evening performances in Sylvania Township to benefit the Sylvania Sunrise Lions Club were the last stops for the Kelly Miller Circus in northwest Ohio. The circus made its annual trek to Kelleys Island on Sunday -- a five-hour venture involving two ferries and five trips to transport the circus, its cast, and 40 vehicles. The operation in reverse returned the circus to the mainland for performances Wednesday in Woodville and Thursday in Point Place. The next stops are in the Detroit area.The booming voice of Ringmaster John Moss III caught the crowd's attention. He advised them to make note of the fire exits, refrain from using cell phones, and warned of the prohibition on recording the show.
At the afternoon performance, with a drum roll, he introduced guest ringmaster John Robinson Block, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Blade.
"It's an honor to be here," said Mr. Block, a longtime circus enthusiast. "Thank you for bringing the circus to Toledo and Sylvania. There's not a bad seat in the house.
"On with the show!"
And nearly two hours of circus entertainment was under way.read more:http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2011/08/13/One-ring-wonder-resounds-with-local-circus-enthusiasts.html

Skowhegan State Fair offers something for everyone

By Ryan McLaughlin, BDN Staff

Posted Aug. 11, 2011,

SKOWHEGAN, Maine — When most people think of state fairs, thrilling rides, games and appetizing fried delights come to mind.
While the Skowhegan State Fair does offer all of those things, the organizers’ main emphasis is on the agricultural portion.
“The Skowhegan State Fair really concentrates on the agricultural part of the fair,” the fair’s marketing director, Denise Smith, said Thursday afternoon. “It’s a very clean fair, it’s very well-run.”
The fairgrounds were full of activity on Thursday as the 193rd fair opened for business at 7 a.m. Festivities will run through Aug. 20.
The fair is dubbed the oldest continuous running agricultural fair in North America, and Smith is hoping more than 100,000 people will pass through the gates this year.
Behind the harness racing grandstand, some African and Asian elephants along with other jungle animals drew a small yet enthusiastic crowd.
“We like to give children and families the opportunity to do something that they don’t often get to do, like see an elephant up close,” said animal trainer Justin Loomis, who is running one tiger and elephant show per day on the weekdays and two shows per day on weekends.
A Bengal and Siberian tiger also came out to play for a bit, wrestling with each other in their cages.
Loomis said elephant rides will be offered for $2 apiece.read more:http://bangordailynews.com/2011/08/11/news/mid-maine/skowhegan-state-fair-offers-something-for-everyone/?ref=latest

Crowds enjoy summer fun at Middlesex County Fair

Amy Boslet, 5, of Edison, tries to toss one in for the win as mom Tammy (l), aunt Sherry Dixit of East Brunswick and dad Rich look on during the Middlesex County Fair in East Brunswick Aug.6.

EAST BRUNSWICK — Eyes gazing into the flashing lights of fair rides above, smiles slathered in cotton candy, and faces bright with the glow of summer were all found yet again at the Middlesex County Fairgrounds last week.
A mix of traditional Americana classics and new attractions drew the public to the 73rd annual fair. Residents could be on the Ferris wheel one moment, then be wowed by live grizzly bears and a fire juggler the next.
“We like to think it is one of the most significant opportunities to bring together people from all over Middlesex County to a common event that celebrates our agricultural heritage,” fair coordinator Dan Mulcahey said.
Not only is the fair a place for the community to gather for entertainment, rides, and of course those treats that simply taste sweeter at the fair, but it is also an opportunity to promote education and agriculture.
“We have focused on nurturing the traditional parts of the fair that make it unique to any other event in the county, [including] the home arts competition, crafts demonstrations, 4-H, fruits/vegetables/livestock [and] vintage farming equipment,” Mulcahey said.
There is one major difference setting the Middlesex County Fair apart from the other fairs of central Jersey.
“Few people realize we are a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization run by volunteers,” Mulcahey explained.
This drastically changed the financial dynamic, he said.
“Many of these fairs, however, are run by the county government; whereas, we are strictly a volunteer operation that derives its funding from operation of the annual fair,” he said, noting that profits are then used for the following year. “The Middlesex County FairAssociation also donates thousands of dollars each year to local charities that support our mission of promoting agriculture, education and community.”read more:http://eb.gmnews.com/news/2011-08-11/Front_Page/Crowds_enjoy_summer_fun_at_Middlesex_County_Fair.html

Vet Working To Move Rosie The Oklahoma Elephant To Maine

Picture of Rosie the elephant. [Dr. Jim Laurita]

Russell Hulstine, NewsOn6.com

Aug 11, 2011

HUGO, Oklahoma -- A veterinarian in the state of Maine wants to adopt a retired circus elephant who now lives in Hugo, Oklahoma and move the elephant to Maine.
The vet and one-time elephant trainer Dr. Jim Laurita has created a nonprofit group to raise money so he can move Rosie from Hugo, Oklahoma to Hope, Maine.
Dr. Laurita says Rosie is well-cared for but unable to receive the special treatment she need for leg and muscle injuries.
Hope is located east of Augusta and south of Bangor near the coast of Maine.
"Rosie is an elephant that I worked with in the circus when I was 18," says Jim Laurita. "I've known her a long time."
Now 42, Rosie is retired from the circus and living at the Endangered Ark Foundation in far southern Oklahoma.
Maine's climate is not a concern, Dr. Laurita notes.
"Elephants are very adaptable and do well in any climate as long as they can get out of the heat. Overheating is the greatest concern with big animals," said Dr. Jim Laurita.
Larita's nonprofit organization, Hope Elephants, still needs local, state, and federal permits but hopes to raise funds, build a barn, and move Rosie in by the end of the summer.

Oregon's lax amusement ride safety regulations draw attention

Is reality TV turning us into sideshow voyeurs?
JoAnna Wogulis/Marriage & Family

Santa Ynez Valley News, Solvang,CA

August 11, 2011
Like many others, I have to confess to watching some of those lame reality shows on TV. I'm not only talking about the ones on primetime networks, but also those found on cable stations. What this so-called educational programming shows us is some of the worst behavioral dysfunctions known to humanity. It is truly a TV sideshow.
Most of you probably haven't experienced a true sideshow, unless you ran across one in a small-town circus or carnival, but I remember them. Many, many years ago, when I was quite young, my parents took me to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at Madison Square Garden in New York City. We went each year and you can just imagine what that kind of extravaganza meant to a young child.
The glitz and glamour and daring-do were all there, but the thing that I could not forget was freak show, as it was known then. You don't hear that word "freak" used very often these days and when it is spoken it is meant to deride or demean someone. Those people who were on exhibit at these sideshows were truly demeaned and humiliated, but for some of them, it was one of the only ways they could earn a living. For a young child, they were both fascinating and frightening.
There was no such thing as "politically correct" in those days, so included in the show were the fat lady, the "midgets," the bearded lady, etc.read more:http://www.syvnews.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/article_55e3f900-c2e6-11e0-8c3d-001cc4c03286.html

Circus Vargas: A show for the whole family

Aug 10, 2011

By Camille Bounds

From The Gilroy Dispatch

Circus Vargas IS circus.

If you want to get the feel and flavor of what a real circus is all about, Circus Vargas is the ticket with a modern splash.Created from a dream of Clifford E. Vargas in 1969, Circus Vargas has evolved to a more modern species with new, forward-looking owners, while still holding onto the thread that makes it a true old-fashioned circus.
The key word for this whole production is friendliness. From the time you enter the modern big blue top to being seated, all staff are relaxed, helpful, pleasant and - interestingly enough - mostly related to one another. This is a REAL family circus, where almost everyone belongs to the family, from the performers to the ushers, to the ticket and concession sellers. There is a relaxed and laid-back feeling that permeates the whole area, while still giving off the anticipation of the circus.
To my delight, this is an intimate, one-ring circus. I usually go bonkers trying to keep track of three rings and, best of all, this is a completely vegetarian presentation. There is not even a pampered poodle in sight. (What a relief. I have always been uncomfortable watching elephants, lions and tigers doing things they really do not want to do.)
Circus Vargas embraces the idea that the circus is really for kids. It delights little ones more than its counterparts that present circuses on different levels. This is the most kid-friendly traveling circus anywhere. It involves toddlers to teens, giving them the thrill of a lifetime when actually participating in the fun and fantasy. With a little good-natured prodding, adults are also incorporated in an amusing section that entertains without anyone losing his or her dignity.
All the performers seem to enjoy themselves and there is a joie de vie in their presentation. Hitting their mark is important, but it seems more important to have fun while getting there. They fly, they dance, they spin, they balance stuff and they spoof. Their one talented clown doesn't waste time. He gets his job done to the delight of the audience. And where else are you going to find an endearing African-American ringmaster with glasses who mans a set of drums for that extra beat. (Utterly charming.)
Circus Vargas may not be as bombastic and glittery as some of its counterparts, but it sure entertains. Best of all, you leave that big top with a good, relaxed feeling that all is right with the world. In this day and age that's worth the price of admission.
***
Circus Vargas
- Where: Flea Market on Berryessa Road, San Jose
- Through: Aug. 15
- Tickets: $15-$60
- Details: 877-GOTFUN1 or 877-4768-3861 or visit www.circusvargas.com.

WISCONSIN STATE FAIR ONE WEEK AGO TOMORROW

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THE WISCONSIN STATE FAIR