1950's
Saturday, April 9, 2011
127th annual Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars bigger than ever
Ring Master Chris Connors starts the show at the Cole Bros. Circus at the Wilmington International Airport as part of the 64th Annual N.C Azalea Festival. The circus runs until Sunday, April 10, 2011. By Alex PomplianoAlex.Pompliano@StarNewsOnline.com April 7, 2011 “Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages step right up to the Cole Bros. Circus,” announced ringmaster Chris Connors to a packed crowd as they erupted in applause. Just then, 12 tigers filled the ring led by trainers Juergen and Judit Nerger, and opening night of the circus had begun. Thursday evening commenced one of the Azalea Festival’s most anticipated events, the 127th annual Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars – so named because its dome interior replicates a celestial nighttime sky. Billed as “the world’s largest circus under the big top,” the circus boasts costumed characters, acrobatics, death-defying stunts and an international cast of entertainers with their trained and exotic animals. The show ran for more than two hours, including a 15-minute intermission when children were invited in the ring to ride the elephants, camels and ponies. Cameron Hite, 9, said her favorite part was when the female pirates barged the ring, climbed the ropes and performed dizzying display of aerial ballet. “I like their swirling on the rings,” Cameron said. The biggest thrills of the night came after the ThunderDrome entered the ring, and a family of three brave motor-bicyclists whirled around the steel globe in patterns at unbelievable speeds. The excitement from the ThunderDrome was the perfect buildup for the anticipated finale when the Human Cannonball, José Bermudez, slid into the “World’s Largest Canon” and was shot out across the Big Top to the other side where he gracefully landed on a net. The Cole Bros. Circus will continue through the rest of the weekend. read more at: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110407/ARTICLES/110409689/1155?Title=127th-annual-Cole-Bros-Circus-of-the-Stars-bigger-than-ever# A clown's view of what to expect from the circus
Asian elephants thrill the audience. Other animals in the show include horses, ponies, llamas, pygmy and Nubian goats, tigers and even a rare watusi. (Heinz Kluetmeier, Daily Press / April 7, 2011)By Sam McDonald, smcdonald@dailypress.com April 7, 2011
This year's circus is ready to amp up the fun.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus remains one of the great unplugged sources of family-friendly joy. Still, in this Digital Age, the acrobats, animals and clowns are eager to prove they can electrify audiences without the aid of technology. "This year's show is called 'Fully Charged' and it's an all-new surge of circus entertainment – we're talking about daredevilry, stunts and everything you can think of that astounds and amazes audiences around the world," said Ringling clown Rob Lok. "Hee-hee-hee," Lok cackled. "I could have been a ringmaster, but I just couldn't sing." Lok came to town ahead of the circus to whip up interest in the Greatest Show on Earth. While he won't perform at Hampton Coliseum this weekend, he knows exactly what and who will be thrilling crowds. Here's his clown-eye view of what to expect. Animal magic "Tabayara is one of the most dynamic animal trainers I've ever met. He has this rare ability to talk with the animals, and allow them to be what they are. It's just amazing what you see him do with these beautiful, beautiful 4-ton Asian elephants and 12 tigers in a ring." Muscle men "Also, you have to see Dmitry and Ruslan, our strong-man duo. Have you ever tried to lift two huge, cumbersome telephone poles? I think they weigh about half a ton. They just twirl them above their heads like they were nothing. That is insane. It shakes the earth when they drop those." Fearless fizzler "I can't continue without talking about The Human Fuse, Brian Miser. Out of 141 years of Ringling, and we've never had a Human Fuse. You have to picture a man, an acrobat, a daredevil, lighting himself ablaze and shooting himself across an arena on a self-made crossbow. He travels 80 feet, at something like 65, 70 miles an hour. The guy is on fire. If that's not the Greatest Show on Earth, I don't know what is." Sneak peek "Everyone should know about our Power Up Pre-show Party. Come an hour before the circus begins. Come hang out with us on the circus floor. You'll get to meet performers, take pictures with them. You'll get to be 'circus fit' which means you'll learn all the acrobatics and aerobics that circus performers do just to keep fit and energized. You'll get to meet — up-close and personal — one of our Asian elephants and try on beautiful, beautiful costumes from editions past. It's a beautiful moment for families and friends. And it's free to ticket holders.
"Want to go?What: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus' show "Fully Charged."When: April 7-10 at Hampton Coliseum, April 14-17 at Scope, Norfolk.Tickets: $10 to $78 from Ticketmaster, not including fees or service chargesInfo: http://www.ringling.com, http://www.hampton.gov/coliseum/, http://www.sevenvenues.com
Circus is coming to town(s)!
By Diana Sholley Staff Writer
04/07/2011
San Bernadino, CA--Circus Vargas is coming to town, bringing the "edge-of-your seat" excitement that's been entertaining crowds for more than 40 years. With it comes acrobats, cyclists, high-wire performers, trapeze artists and clowns. But there is something that Circus Vargus has decided to leave behind - its animals. Circus Vargas is now an animal-free show - and its owners couldn't be happier. "We wanted a change, something modern and up-to-date," said trapeze performer Katya Quiroga, who owns the circus with her husband Nelson. "It was a slow process. We made the decision not to use exotic animals about two years ago." Quiroga added that concentrating on the human talents gives the audience a better show. This Circus Vargas show takes the audience on an artistic journey. It encompasses the cultures of the world through a series of circus vignettes depicting the experiences, memories and vision of a traveling circus performer. "It's about a clown traveling around looking for his true love," said Quiroga in her Dutch accent. "It starts in Argentina. Come to the show and see if he finds her. Just look for the big, bright, blue and yellow tent." Those planning to attend Circus Vargas can come an hour early and get a behind-the-scenes look at circus life. Circus hosts Jon and Laura Weiss welcome the audience and invite the children - of all ages - into center ring for a tutorial of what life is like under the Big Top. Jon guides everyone on a crash course in circus skills such as juggling, feather balancing and hula-hooping. "It's fun for the whole family and family is what we're all about," Quiroga said. "Come inside and forget about the world's problems outside. The show is magical and these days everybody can use a little magic in their lives."Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/living/ci_17795890#ixzz1IyM8QS1K
'Nitro Circus' hits the road
Extreme sports show gears up road tour
MTV's "Nitro Circus" is morphing into a touring show.
By Marc GraserApr. 7, 2011
MTV may no longer be airing the reality stunt series "Nitro Circus," but the show has found a new life on the road.The property is bowing a live show that will tour across North America starting this summer, concluding with the release of a 3D movie early next year. "Nitro Circus Live" is essentially Cirque du Soleil with more than 25 well-known extreme sports athletes in the BMX, FMX and skateboarding worlds performing a range of death-defying acts. First U.S. event takes place June 4 from the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. Venue seats 16,800. Stunts performed at the show will be shown in the film, being produced by S2BN Entertainment, Global Action Sports and Godfrey Entertainment. Pic does not yet have a distributor, but Paramount is a likely home for the project, after recently releasing the Justin Bieber concert pic and "Nitro Circus" having a previous relationship with Par-sibling MTV. "Nitro Circus" is the latest entertainment property to launch a live show, with DreamWorks Animation doing so around "How to Train Your Dragon," Warner Bros. with an event built around Batman and Disney having produced similar efforts around its characters and films in the past. X Games regulars Travis Pastrana, Gregg Godfrey and Jeremy Rawle founded the Nitro Circus brand in 2006, launching it as a series of DVDs and miniseries on Fuel TV in 2006. It turned into a reality show for MTV in 2009, which lasted for two seasons, performing well overseas. After MTV decided not to go ahead with a third season, the athletes created a live show with Australian-based sports marketing and events firm Global Action Sports. First tour became one of Australia's highest-grossing sports shows in the region, selling more than 120,000 tix. The tour went global this year, with shows in Europe, New Zealand and now the U.S. Pastrana said many of the stunts designed for the show in Las Vegas "have never been performed before anywhere in the world and are unlikely to be attempted ever again. Almost 10 world firsts have been thrown down during our tours in Australia and New Zealand and we are going to try and match that." S2BN Entertainment is co-producing and promoting the live show in the U.S. Org has also overseen tours for the Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand "Yo Gabba Gabba Live!," "Rock of Ages" and "Bodies: The Exhibition." Company chief Michael Cohl is the lead producer of "Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark."
Cole Bros. Circus documentary will show Sat. in Deland
posted by otownrog on April, 8 2011 Deland is the winter home and headquarters of the Cole Brothers Circus, one of a handful of tent shows still struggling to make a go of it on the road in the HDTV era. And this Saturday, a documentary about that circus will play in the historic Athens Theatre. Michael Knox, 36, a Florida native and now a North Carolina filmmaker, has ties to that circus and wanted to document it before it was too late.
“My grandmother and grandfather worked for the Clyde Beatty/Cole Brothers Circus. When I was a kid, I used to travel with them. I’d ride elephants bareback, I’d work with the clowns, sell concessions, help put up the tent, all that stuff. My mom still works in the office of the circus and she was telling me about the struggles it was going through. If something’s about to shut down, or is in danger, that’s a good story to tell. I’d hate it if there was no real memory of this circus. I’d been working as a reporter (The Salisbury Post and The Independent Tribune in Charlotte, in N.C.) and gotten into film production. So we went to Wilmington, where they had a one-week long run, and filmed them there.” The film captures the world that circus people live in and the pressures (immigration issues for the performers and crew, fuel costs) facing such a troupe in the 21st century. Showtime is 1:30 p.m. at the Athens Theater, tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for kids. Circus coming to Jasonville
Friday, April 8, 2011
from: Th Green County , IN Daily World.com
By Jo Chiparo, Staff Writer
Send out the clowns! The circus is coming!
Clowns, Charlee and Charlie, from Kelly Miller Circus will visit Jasonville on April 12 to entertain and give a free preview of the circus that will be in Jasonville April 26. From Florida, Charlee and Charlie's Adventure will entertain at the Shakamak Nursing Home at 8:30 a.m. with a repeat performance at the Lions Club at 10 a.m. The show will emphasize the importance of team work with a mix of audience participation, silly comedy and colorful clown magic, which is all wrapped around a bit of circus history. Charlee and Charlie have been performing together for 15 years and have won numerous awards for their unique style of entertainment. The Kelly Miller Circus, sponsored by the Jasonville Chamber of Commerce, will arrive at Hanna Field on April 26. The first show will start at 4:30 p.m. with a second performance at 7:30 p.m. Both performances will feature elephants, tigers, camels, juggling, skits, and clowns. There will also be a revolving 360 degree trapeze act, a dog and pony show, and a human volcano that will create a blast so huge that the audience can feel the heat. If tickets are purchased prior to the show, the prices are $6 for children under 12 years and $10 for adults. Tickets purchased at the box office will be $7 for children and $15 for adults. Tickets may be purchased at Bloomfield State Bank, Main Source Bank, Rash Hardware, and Gamble's Furniture. In case of rain, the circus will perform at the City Park.
Starry-eyed entertainment at Cole Bros. Circus
StarNews photos by Mike SpencerApril 7th, 2011
by Alex Pompliano
from: starnewsonline.com Wilmington, NC--There were three of them, and they looked menacing for a circus. Dressed in black, this trio – a family, actually, from Venezuela – created dust clouds in the ring by popping wheelies on motorbikes. One sported a neon mohawk. Then three clowns emerged, the classic kind: vibrant-colored and riding tricycles. The clowns were chased by the motorcyclists and rodeoed against a ramp, where they were jumped over by the family. This depiction of new thrills over old was analogical of the recently revamped Cole Bros. Circus. It was also an indicator that the circus has slightly changed by keeping up with the times. It had been over a decade since I’ve stepped under a tent this large, so maybe this had already been already the norm. (The most carnivalesque thing I’d encountered lately was streaming Fellini’s “La Strada” on Netflix.) However, experiencing the Cole Bros. Circus tonight was more exciting, more alluring than I remembered the circus to be.
4:30 p.m. today began one of the Azalea Festival’s more anticipated events, the 127th annual Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars – so named because its dome interior replicates a luminous and celestial nighttime sky. The event still holds onto aspects that makes the circus a representative family pastime. It features costumed characters, aerial ballet, death-defying stunts and exotic animals – the most unique being a Liger. Covering over an acre, jaunty ragtime music lured families toward a large yellow-and-orange tent on the grounds of Wilmington International Airport. Marketing director Debra Houston said attendees continue to grow annually in number, so this year they had to get a new tent for a larger capacity; it is 55-feet high with the dimensions of a football field. “Every year in Wilmington it just gets bigger and bigger,” said Houston, motioning toward the few unclaimed seats high in the stands. It began with a booming voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages step right up to the Cole Bros. Circus,” announced ringmaster Chris Connors to the roar of thunderous applause as 12 tigers rushed the ring led by trainers Juergen and Judit Nerger. 
From that point on there were camels, elephants, acrobatics, slapstick, and everything one should expect at a proper circus. The excitement from the ThunderDrome, mentioned earlier, was the perfect buildup for the anticipated finale: José Bermudez, the Human Cannonball. Dressed in white, Bermudez waved to the audience and then slid into the “World’s Largest Canon.” A timpani rolled and the ringmaster counted down. 5…4…3…2…1. Mackenzie Sosie, 10, sat next to me, covered her ears but kept her eyes glued on the cannon. The peopled gasped as Bermudez was shot out across the Big Top to the other side where he gracefully landed on a net. I asked Sosie if she was scared and she shook her head. “It was loud,” she responded, adding that the animals were still her favorite part. The Cole Bros. Circus will continue through the rest of the weekend. Also expect to see protestors there as well. Armed with PETA signs, they promised to be at entrance of ILM Airport an hour before each performance . 
MIKE NAUGHTON ELECTED PRESIDENT OF SHOWFOLKS OF SARASOTA CIRCUS FANS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, TENT #122 Sarasota, FL, April 6, 2011 – Veteran circus producer Mike Naughton has been elected president of The Showfolks of Sarasota Circus Fans Association, Tent #122, one of the most active groups in the nationwide fans’ organization.
He succeeds Ron Edry in the president’s chair.
Well-known in the circus industry for his Yankee Doodle Circus, now in its 27th year, Naughton has also produced countless circus-themed private parties and celebrations. In addition, he regularly provides circus acts to fairs, thrill shows and other events.
Currently, Naughton is business manager for The Medeiros Troupe, a featured attraction in a unit of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.
Based for many years in New York State, Naughton relocated his headquarters to Sarasota in the summer of 2009. “I enjoy living and working in Sarasota where circus is a part of almost everybody’s life,” Naughton commented. “It’s an honor to take this role with such a vibrant and active CFA tent.
I look forward to close collaboration with each and every Tent member to assure the organization’s bright, exciting future.”
Let the fair begin!
Carnival workers assemble a carousel Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Eustis. The Lake County Fair opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 7, and closes on April 16 EUSTISL FL, Thursday, April 07, 2011 THERESA CAMPBELL Staff Writer theresacampbell@dailycommercial.com Elephant ears, corndogs, funnel cakes, carnival rides, 4-H exhibits, livestock shows and the chance to see racing pigs. It's all part of the fun that begins 5 p.m. today when the 90th annual Lake County Fair opens its gates. A beef breeding show kicks off the livestock activities at 6 p.m., while Lee Ann Noel Band will entertain with two free performances tonight and Friday at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. "It's all good, clean family entertainment," C.E. "Happy" Norris, fair manager said. The fair will run through April 16, with weekend hours of 1 to 10 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. weekdays. He believes the fair has something for everyone, including 35 carnival-style rides and a variety of "fair cuisine" that Norris admits that he can't resist. "I do like the elephant ears and caramel popcorn," he said, adding food vendors also will be at the fairgrounds with pizza, barbecue foods, sausage sandwiches, fried veggies, and even deep-fried candy bars and deep-fried Twinkies. "It looks like we're going to have good weather," Norris said, pleased by nice weather forecasts, which he hopes brings out the crowds. More than 66,000 people attended the fair in 2010. "We're hoping around 70,000 this year," Norris said. Some 600 animal exhibits -- goats, steers, poultry, rabbits, swine -- will featured throughout the fair, along with a horticultural show, fine arts, creative arts, photography exhibit, talent show, pageant, and open-mic nights. During the fair's beginning 90 years ago, it began as an event to entertain and educate the local residents, and the exposition grew to provide an atmosphere for county residents to compete on a local level with their crafts, exhibits and livestock. Nine decades later, the mission hasn't changed. Lake County Fair continues to promote agriculture while entertaining folks at the same time. IF YOU GO WHAT: The 90th annual Lake County Fair WHEN: Today through April 16. The fair is open 5 to 10 p.m. weekdays; 1 to 10 p.m. weekends. WHERE: 2101 County Road 452, Eustis LAKE COUNTY FAIR
EUSTIS, FL
SET-UP PHOTOS--TUESDAY APRIL 5th
Carnival worker Randy Kuhlman assembles the Power Surge ride Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Eustis. The Lake County Fair opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 7, and closes on April 16. 
Carnival workers install the ferris wheel Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Eustis. The Lake County Fair opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 7, and closes on April 16. 
Carnival workers set up a lemonade stand Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Eustis. The Lake County Fair opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 7, and closes on April 16. 
Carnival workers John Mullins, left, and Steve Simmons hang prizes in the Tubs of Fun booth Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Eustis. The Lake County Fair opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 7, and closes on April 16. 
Carnival workers assemble a ride Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Eustis. The Lake County Fair opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 7, and closes on April 16.
Carnival worker Sunshine Hinshaw washes toys ducks while setting up her game booth booth Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Eustis. The Lake County Fair opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 7, and closes on April 16. 
If you see one show inside a giant tent this year, make it ‘Absinthe’Rick Lax
Penny and The Gazillionaire perform in Absinthe at Caesars Palace.Was I hallucinating or was Absinthe really that good? I saw the show sober, so it must be the latter. What’s Absinthe? It’s an adult circus inside a heritage wooden tent, inside a beer garden, next to Caesars Palace. Just walk out the hotel lobby and look for the porch lights, the beanbag toss and the burger truck. It’s next to all that. I enter the main tent five minutes late and catch the second half of a badass chair-balancing routine. Unlike similar local acts, these chairs don’t lock together—or if they do, the locking mechanism is subtler. I find a seat, and the sultry Green Fairy singer emerges with dark green feathers matching dark green pasties. She doesn’t have the vocal power of Caesars counterpart Celine Dion (who does?), but she's carefree cockiness in spades. And she looks like Mila Kunis. From my seat, at least.
Photo: Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com/Absinthe at Caesars Palace. Next up: a four-man balancing team in Under Armor. I mention the logo gear because it humanizes the act. Cirque acrobats, by comparison, wear one-of-a-kind costumes and perform to otherworldly new age music. You forget Cirque performers are human—they make it look so effortless. But because the Absinthe men wear Under Armor, like me, I’m forced to contemplate how hard it would be for me to do what they do. Very. Enter the first emcee: The Gazillionaire. He takes the stage in whirlwind of karate kicks and insult comedy. He’s a likable, svelte, extra-dynamic Tony Clifton. After working up the crowd, he turns the show over to a mixed aerialist team. Unlike’s Cirque pose-driven choreography—get in a difficult one and hold it for applause—the Absinthe pair is about speed and movement. It’s fast. It’s sexy. It’s proceeded by Gazillionaire’s awesome one-liner: “The most gorgeous brother & sister act in the world!” Then a striptease inside a balloon, then a bondage-inspired en pointe aerialist and then a Cirque parody starring the Gazillionaire (in a Borat-approved neon green bathing suit) and a girl named Penny. Let’s talk about Penny: I don’t know who she is or where she comes from, and I’ve only seen her do one three-minute sock puppet monologue, but I think she could be the funniest woman in Vegas. Sorry, Rita.
Photo: Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com/Absinthe at Caesars Palace. Penny introduces a roller skating duo. And while I won’t try to describe their act, I’ll say that they’re going to fall and die any day now, and you need to see their act before this happens. Standing O, middle of the show. The evening ends with a two-man balancing act, and a masterful high wire trio. Assuming you’re okay with the occasional cunnilingus joke, go see Absinthe before Gazillionaire packs up the tent and moves to the next city. I hope that won’t happen soon, but, hey, that’s how circus tents work.
TB in elephants called 'a gray area'
Animal-rights group says elephant with positive TB test is a danger, but circus and government health officials say there is no risk
Elephants participate in the annual pachyderm parade marking the arrival of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to Baltimore March 28. Karen the elephant recently tested positive for tuberculosis, but a follow-up test was negative. (Gene Sweeney Jr., Baltimore Sun / March 28, 2011) By Laura Vozzella, The Baltimore Sun April 6, 2011 An animal-rights group contends that an elephant performing in Baltimore with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus poses a health risk to the public because she has tested positive for tuberculosis, but circus and government health officials say the animal is no threat because she does not have an active form of the infectious disease. Karen, a 42-year-old Asian elephant, tested positive for TB in a blood test but negative in a follow-up test known as a trunk wash, which involves taking a culture of saline solution run through the animal's trunk. The positive blood test was enough to get Karen barred from entering Tennessee with the rest of the circus back in December. But it appears that health officials in that state, where TB was transmitted from another elephant to nine employees at a refuge in 2009, were taking a stricter stance than required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which calls for quarantining elephants only if they have an active case of TB. Elephant-to-human transmission of TB is a very new field of study — that it occurs at all was only officially established in 2009 by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, prompted by the outbreak at the Tennessee refuge — and experts are still trying to determine the best way to deal with the problem, said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and one of the authors of the CDC study. "This is a large gray area," Schaffner said, borrowing a line from one of his co-authors, Rendi Murphree, an epidemic intelligence service officer at the CDC and a visiting scholar at Vanderbilt. The USDA is holding a meeting in Kansas City this very week to discuss the matter. "Could an elephant have a positive MAPIA [blood] test and a negative trunk wash and still be infectious? Is that possible?" Schaffner said. "That's where the current scientific discussion lies. How reliable is a negative trunk wash test? That is a legitimate area of discussion. There are people that say every elephant with a positive MAPIA should be held back under infection control precautions — quarantined, if you will — and treated. Others say it's not necessary." Even given all the unknowns, Schaffner thinks that there is little risk of a spectator at the circus becoming infected from an elephant. "If you're at a circus, you're at a great distance from the elephants," he said. "You do not have genuinely prolonged contact with them. You're there for two hours of the show. That sort of exposure should not put people at risk." He added: "I would let my grandchildren attend."read more at:http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bs-ae-elephant-tuberculosis-20110406,0,6958500.story?track=rss Gondolania formally opens door to public
Circus performers at the the opening of Gondolania at the Villagio Mall By Ross JacksonQatar--gulf-times.com The official opening of the Gondolania indoor theme park in the Villaggio Mall took place yesterday with a parade of 25 international circus performers. Gondolania officials unveiled their roller coaster’s unique sound and light show that is synchronized with the ride. A sequence of different sound and light shows will take place during the three-minute ride, creating a spectacular ambience throughout the park. The indoor park features a variety of rides and attractions including a spinning roller coaster that takes riders almost to the ceiling before plunging 19m underground, the only 4D cinema in the country, a bowling alley, a go-kart circuit, a ‘drop tower’, bumper cars, carousel, a Ferris wheel, a kiddie train, video arcade and party rooms. The park also offers restaurants, cafés and a food court, as well as merchandise shops throughout the theme park. The 22,000sq m park had a series of soft openings for a full year, as only some of the attractions were in place. The residents of Qatar have been able to use each section as it became available. According to Fun Fair Company CEO Michael Koborsi, the park represents a $40mn investment and is showing a profit just one year since the first rides opened. The company behind Gondolania claims that the park currently attracts 3,000 to 5,000 people a day during the week and around 12,000 people on weekends. Koborsi doesn’t plan to stop there as more attractions are in the pipeline, including a yet bigger and go-kart circuit and Tagadesko, a spinning giant musical wheel. 
Circus to open today at KCAC
Ramon Esqueda wears a tuxedo at night and cleans up after elephants by day. Tom Peel / Indiana Gazette Apr 7, 2011. By BILL ZIMMERMAN billz@indianagazette.net The Indiana Gazette Ramon Esqueda wears a tuxedo at night and cleans up after elephants by day. And that's only a small part of Esqueda's workday as the elephant trainer in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which will present eight shows tonight through Monday at the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex. On Wednesday, Esqueda was tending to Susie, Minnie and Bunny, the largest members of the circus' menagerie that includes 18 dogs, 10 cats, eight exotic birds and six horses. He feeds, grooms and exercises the three Asian elephants before presenting them under the spotlight before thousands at night.read more at: http://www.indianagazette.com/a_news/article_ece581fc-a6cd-5e2c-90e1-6d004a025404.html Circus star to scale new heights
STARRING ROLE: Circus performer Pipi-Ayesha Evans is busy preparing for a 50-day tour of Nepalese schools built by Sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust STACEY WOOD 07/04/2011 from:www.stuff.co.nz Pipi-Ayesha Evans is used to being in high places, but performing on the roof of the world will be a new experience for the Wellington circus performer. A stiltwalker, acrobat and trapeze artist of more than 10 years experience, 34-year-old Evans is one of four performers travelling to Nepalese schools this month in association with Sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust. The trust built its first school in Khumjung, one of the most inaccessible parts of the Himalayas. This year Khumjung School turns 50 and, to celebrate the milestone, four comic performers led by "clown doctor" Jean-Paul Bell will head out on their Roof of the World tour to visit 25 of the Himalayan Trust schools scattered around Nepal. Bell is well known for taking his physical comedy to war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and East Timor. He believes laughter is important to people in tough environments. "Humour can have an effect similar to an out-of-body experience, where you look down from the position you are in and embrace the absurd and the ridiculous. Comedy in these situations is more like an extreme sport." The four Australians and Kiwis will begin their journey in Kathmandu, where they will prepare and acclimatise ahead of the 50-day journey. They will travel across the country, visiting schools and performing comedy in the morning before running theatre workshops in the afternoon. Evans, a trustee of Wellington Circus Trust, has been performing highwire aerial acts, and strutting on her 1½ metre stilts for more than 10 years. She has performed in Shanghai and Hong Kong before, but never Nepal. "It actually fulfils a number of dreams for me. I've been wanting to go to Nepal for a long time, and the idea of travelling, performing and teaching to fairly under-privileged kids, as well as the most amazing mountains - it's perfect." The Nepalese children will learn juggling skills and magic tricks, as well as how to craft props such as juggling balls. Evans hoped the tour would give them skills they could use to learn a craft, as well as dazzle them with circus tricks. Circus party rumoured for Suri
MUMMY'S GIRL: Katie Holmes with Suri, who turns five on April 18. from: www.stuff.co.nz 07/04/2011 Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are reportedly planning to stage a £13,000 (NZ$27,500) circus at their home for daughter Suri's birthday. The tot turns five on April 18 and her parents are determined to treat her to a lavish party. They have decided to give the bash a circus theme according to British newspaper The Sun, and have arranged for elephants and giraffes to be brought to their Beverly Hills home. Suri can't get enough of the story Alice in Wonderland at the moment, so her mother and father have also organised actors dressed in outfits from the classic tale to be present. "Suri loves Alice so they're going to deck out their home exactly like the fantasy," a source told the publication. "They want to make it extra special for her." Among the guests who will be joining in the fun are David and Victoria Beckham and their sons Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, eight, and six-year-old Cruz. Earlier this week, Holmes downplayed plans for Suri's special day. She said she was in the process of planning a series of treats for her daughter, who had already asked if she could have her friends over to play. "This is my favourite day of the year, so we're going to have a little tea party," she told Ryan Seacrest. "She wants a piñata and her girlfriends to come over for swimming. And we're going to make a cake together." 
