THE BALLOON MAN

Daredevil Wallenda To Speak At Ringling 
Sarasota's Nik Wallenda will cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope this summer, but he's coming to Ringling Museum Saturday to share his inspiring story. 

 

From: sarasotapatch.com
03.09.12
By Charles Schelle
Sarasota's Nik Wallenda has tall plans this summer crossing the Niagara Falls on a 1,800-foot high wire.

But before the "King of the High Wire" crosses a natural wonder of the world, he's going to try to fulfill the wonderment of kids and families giving them the behind the scenes look of his daredevil life Saturday at the Ringling Museum.

Wallenda will be part of the family-centric Center Ring Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. in the backyard of the Circus Museum. The event is included with the regular admission for the museum $25 for adults; $20 for seniors, $5 for children 6-17; and free for children under 5.

Wallenda says it's fun to talk to get crowds involved and answer their questions — especially from youngsters.

"They ask everything you can imagine: 'Are you crazy? Do you have magnets in your shoes? What do your kids think about?'" he told Patch.

Wallenda says he's going to talk about the history of his daredevil family,  his own life and trying to prepare for his performance atop the Niagara Falls set to be televised live on a Discovery cable channel. A date has not been set for the walk, he said, but will most likely be at the end of August.

His family is so well known throughout the seven generations of daredevil performances, that they're called the Great Wallendas. His ancestoral circus roots go back to the 1780s, but it was Karl Wallenda, a German immigrant hired by the Ringling Bros. in the 1920s who created the seven-person chair pyramid where they would form a human pyramid on a high wire.
read more at:
http://sarasota.patch.com/articles/daredevil-wallenda-to-speak-at-ringling#c