Wednesday, March 24, 2010

RUN AWAY WITH THE CIRCUS!

Published: Friday, March 19, 2010
A couple hundred Frisco area residents “joined the circus” at least for the morning Friday, to see an elephant hoist the center tent and kick off a weekend of fun. Kelly Miller Circus, out of Oklahoma, is on Frisco Square Boulevard at John Elliott Drive through Sunday.
“It was real neat and fun to see how it used to be done,” said Rhonda Franklin, Frisco. “It was good to see how hard they worked. I couldn’t believe they got the tent up in just an hour!”
Joining Rhonda on her first trip to the circus tent-raising event was her husband, Shawn, and their two daughters, Kinsie, 6, and Kaylie, 13 months.
“I’m glad we got up early to see it,” Shawn Franklin said.
“Did you think the elephant had to work hard to raise the tent?” Rhonda asked Kinsie.
“No, it was easy,” Kinsie said. “The elephant was big.”

More than a dozen men spread out the various pieces of colorful canvas. They carried and dragged in rigging, using the long and short thick ropes to tie together the slivers of canvas to make up the massive tent.
Using their own power in groups and that of several tractors they pushed the shortest posts into place. Thus, space appeared along the sidewalls, making way for the crowd to file in and view the spectacle for which they all came as the sun rose.



The grande dame of elephants put the finishing touch to a morning’s work. Hooked to each of the four center-ring poles, she pulled each into place to fully support the big top. Each success drew a round of applause from the crowd.
The Kelly Miller Circus is owned by John North Ringling II. The Oklahoma-based entertainment organization travels nine months a year, according to the announcer. The program is hosted as an annual fundraiser by the Heritage Association of Frisco.
While the elephants are awesome, don’t forget about the horses, camels, llamas, ponies, and tigers. They will all perform, along with the amazing acrobats and aerialists from around the world.



The circus is in Frisco Friday through Sunday. Tickets are available for the circus as well as rides accompanying the troupe.
Circus tickets available at gate only: $14, adults, $7, children under 12.
Performances are scheduled as follows:
Friday 4:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: 2 p.m., 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
Sunday: 2 p.m., 5 p.m.


Frisco, Texas Enterprise > News

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