Peakland residents brace for arrival of Cole Bros. Circus
By Carrie J. Sidener Published: April 25, 2010
By Monday afternoon, a tent the length of a football field will top the lawn of the Presbyterian Homes & Family Services as a circus prepares for its opening performance.
The location of this year’s circus, which for the past few years has been held at Liberty University, came under fire last month when some residents of the surrounding Peakland neighborhood off Boonsboro Road expressed objections during a public hearing, citing concerns including traffic hazards, noise and inconsistency with the residential area.
City Council, however, voted in favor of the circus by granting it a conditional use permit. Cole Bros. Circus has been visiting Lynchburg for more than six decades.
Presbyterian Homes is a nonprofit providing housing and other services for at-risk youth and adults with intellectual disabilities. The circus will set up on the agency’s main lawn near the center of the more than 100-acre campus between Linden Avenue and V.E.S. Road.
Mark Morrison, vice president of development for Presbyterian Homes and Family Services, said having the circus literally set up in the children’s own yard has generated a lot of excitement. Because the Presbyterian Homes is hosting the circus, a portion of the proceeds from advanced and at-the-gate ticket sales will go to the nonprofit.
“It’s also an opportunity to expose people to our beautiful campus,” Morrison said. “We’ve been in Lynchburg for more than 100 years. We’re a well-kept secret. This is an opportunity to bring people to our campus and show them what we do.”
Morrison said the Presbyterian Home staff has worked hard to minimize the impact the two-day circus will have on the surrounding neighborhood, including limiting access to the circus to one entrance, having off-duty officers and private security on hand and trying to limit noise that may disturb the neighborhood.
“We agreed that this site was worth trying,” Morrison said. “We’d give it a shot. … It’s very unusual to do something like this and we may not ever do it again.”
Dan Baltulonis, senior marketing director for Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars, said the circus is celebrating its 126th year.
“We are the oldest tented circus in the U.S.,” Baltulonis said. “We travel up and down the East Coast for nine months. We do 250 shows in a year in 110 cities and 20 to 25 different states.”
Circus attractions include white tigers, elephants and other circus animals; a “human cannonball” and clowns. The Monday night show will feature racecar driver Stacey Compton riding an elephant.
Capt. Todd Swisher, of the Lynchburg Police Department, said a few off-duty officers will be on hand to help with traffic and other security concerns during the two-day circus.
The location of this year’s circus, which for the past few years has been held at Liberty University, came under fire last month when some residents of the surrounding Peakland neighborhood off Boonsboro Road expressed objections during a public hearing, citing concerns including traffic hazards, noise and inconsistency with the residential area.
City Council, however, voted in favor of the circus by granting it a conditional use permit. Cole Bros. Circus has been visiting Lynchburg for more than six decades.
Presbyterian Homes is a nonprofit providing housing and other services for at-risk youth and adults with intellectual disabilities. The circus will set up on the agency’s main lawn near the center of the more than 100-acre campus between Linden Avenue and V.E.S. Road.
Mark Morrison, vice president of development for Presbyterian Homes and Family Services, said having the circus literally set up in the children’s own yard has generated a lot of excitement. Because the Presbyterian Homes is hosting the circus, a portion of the proceeds from advanced and at-the-gate ticket sales will go to the nonprofit.
“It’s also an opportunity to expose people to our beautiful campus,” Morrison said. “We’ve been in Lynchburg for more than 100 years. We’re a well-kept secret. This is an opportunity to bring people to our campus and show them what we do.”
Morrison said the Presbyterian Home staff has worked hard to minimize the impact the two-day circus will have on the surrounding neighborhood, including limiting access to the circus to one entrance, having off-duty officers and private security on hand and trying to limit noise that may disturb the neighborhood.
“We agreed that this site was worth trying,” Morrison said. “We’d give it a shot. … It’s very unusual to do something like this and we may not ever do it again.”
Dan Baltulonis, senior marketing director for Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars, said the circus is celebrating its 126th year.
“We are the oldest tented circus in the U.S.,” Baltulonis said. “We travel up and down the East Coast for nine months. We do 250 shows in a year in 110 cities and 20 to 25 different states.”
Circus attractions include white tigers, elephants and other circus animals; a “human cannonball” and clowns. The Monday night show will feature racecar driver Stacey Compton riding an elephant.
Capt. Todd Swisher, of the Lynchburg Police Department, said a few off-duty officers will be on hand to help with traffic and other security concerns during the two-day circus.
from Newsadvance.com, Lynchburg, VA, Sunday Apr 25, 2010
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