THE BALLOON MAN

Circus comes to town

Luke Smucker.

These five youngsters took an elephant ride shortly before the 4:30 p.m. Carson and Barnes circus show held at the Rec Plex Monday. There was also an evening show.

By Luke Smucker

Pontiac Daily Leader

Posted Aug 30, 2011

Pontiac, Ill. — In a world where the Internet and television screens give people access to all of their entertainment desires in an instant, it’s easy to forget that there was a time when the circus was as big as a summer blockbuster and the clowns, acrobats and animal performers were as popular as movie stars.On Monday, the Carson and Barnes circus came to Pontiac courtesy of P.R.O.U.D. for 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. shows.

“This is the third time that P.R.O.U.D. has brought this event to town,” said Lori Fairfield, executive director of P.R.O.U.D. “You don’t see them as often anymore, so to be able to bring them to our community is really great.”Fairfield said the Carson and Barnes circus has come to Pontiac in the past during 2005 and 2007 and that their great reputation and class acts are what really made the decision to bring them back this year so easy.

Carson and Barnes also allow sponsors to help them out with appearance costs and in return, P.R.O.U.D said they are going to use the funds they receive to help pay for future events such as the Jolly Trolley Holiday Open Houses and the Christmas Light Up parade.“This year, we hope to make a couple thousand dollars to go towards our future expenses,” said Fairfield. “All the funds that we raised off of our event go back into any future special events that we might host. We have a bunch of different things throughout the year, but operating costs is always a big one.”One tradition that Fairfield has held at the circus each time it has come to town, is to ride out on the back of one of the circus’ elephants. At the 4:30 p.m. show, Fairfield was joined on the elephant’s back by Beth Murphy, the vice president of P.R.O.U.D. and Ellie Alexander, the tourism director for the city.“I am kind of becoming an old pro at that,” joked Fairfield. “Your heart gets to pump a little bit when you’re on top of that big elephant. To be able to touch the skin and the hair, it’s a little bit different than you anticipate.”After the end of the 7:30 p.m. show, the circus slowly began to pack up and move on.

“We are now gearing up for the Holiday season,” said Fairfield. “But we are hoping for a good turnout for both shows and we are excited to have the circus here in town.”