Circus in town after mercy mission
Piccadilly to perform Thursday at Robstown site
By Clay Thorp Corpus Christi Caller Times
June 8, 2011
ROBSTOWN — When an act of nature destroys your entire town, it’s not very often the circus comes to save the day.
But when a monster tornado hit Joplin, Mo., the Piccadilly Circus, which will perform Thursday in Robstown, used its three elephants — Ocka, Costi and Magoo — to move cars, tree trunks and other debris.
General manager and third generation circus performer Zach Garden said his Sarasota, Fla.-based circus was scheduled to perform in Joplin days after a devastating tornado careened through the town.
Instead of dazzling community members with their circus acts, they chose to help with acts of kindness.
“We were passing through, so it was either take a day off, or help out,” he said “I decided to stop and help and do whatever we could.”
Garden said the scene of destruction and heartbreak was something he’ll never forget.
“These people had to pay out of their own pockets. There were tow trucks there making money off the deal,” he said.
That’s when Garden had the idea to put his resources to good use.
Elephant trainers used chains and ropes and tied them to numerous cars and splintered houses so elephants could drag them onto the street for removal.
“Their insurance won’t pay them until their properties are clean, so let’s go out there and do it for free,” he said.
After the arena where the group was to perform was turned into a makeshift hospital, Garden said he left two elephants and some circus clowns to cheer up the townspeople with a free show.
“We used them to cheer up the kids,” he said. “We had clowns out there and we gave away over 500 bags of cotton candy.”
Once the performance was finished, almost the entire circus staff took to the streets to help in whatever way they could.
“They helped pick up debris still in costume,” Garden said. “It was over 90 degrees.”
Garden said the swath of destruction was wide and awe-inspiring.
“The smell of the whole place was just unbelievable,” he said. “There was total devastation seven miles long and a mile and half wide.”
Garden relayed the story of one family who came to their rental property to find the tenants still inside the crumbling wreckage that was once their home.
“They were pulling them out of the debris when we got there,” he said. “The kids had broken limbs. They were hiding under a stairwell. That’s what saved them.”
Garden said it’s hard for most Americans to grasp the extent of a destructive force such as the Joplin tornado.
“The pictures just don’t do any justice for what it’s like in real life,” he said.
IF YOU GO
What: Piccadilly Circus
Where: Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds, U.S. Highway 77 and State Highway 44, Robstown
When: 4:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Cost: $7
But when a monster tornado hit Joplin, Mo., the Piccadilly Circus, which will perform Thursday in Robstown, used its three elephants — Ocka, Costi and Magoo — to move cars, tree trunks and other debris.
General manager and third generation circus performer Zach Garden said his Sarasota, Fla.-based circus was scheduled to perform in Joplin days after a devastating tornado careened through the town.
Instead of dazzling community members with their circus acts, they chose to help with acts of kindness.
“We were passing through, so it was either take a day off, or help out,” he said “I decided to stop and help and do whatever we could.”
Garden said the scene of destruction and heartbreak was something he’ll never forget.
“These people had to pay out of their own pockets. There were tow trucks there making money off the deal,” he said.
That’s when Garden had the idea to put his resources to good use.
Elephant trainers used chains and ropes and tied them to numerous cars and splintered houses so elephants could drag them onto the street for removal.
“Their insurance won’t pay them until their properties are clean, so let’s go out there and do it for free,” he said.
After the arena where the group was to perform was turned into a makeshift hospital, Garden said he left two elephants and some circus clowns to cheer up the townspeople with a free show.
“We used them to cheer up the kids,” he said. “We had clowns out there and we gave away over 500 bags of cotton candy.”
Once the performance was finished, almost the entire circus staff took to the streets to help in whatever way they could.
“They helped pick up debris still in costume,” Garden said. “It was over 90 degrees.”
Garden said the swath of destruction was wide and awe-inspiring.
“The smell of the whole place was just unbelievable,” he said. “There was total devastation seven miles long and a mile and half wide.”
Garden relayed the story of one family who came to their rental property to find the tenants still inside the crumbling wreckage that was once their home.
“They were pulling them out of the debris when we got there,” he said. “The kids had broken limbs. They were hiding under a stairwell. That’s what saved them.”
Garden said it’s hard for most Americans to grasp the extent of a destructive force such as the Joplin tornado.
“The pictures just don’t do any justice for what it’s like in real life,” he said.
IF YOU GO
What: Piccadilly Circus
Where: Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds, U.S. Highway 77 and State Highway 44, Robstown
When: 4:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Cost: $7
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