THE BALLOON MAN

Lake George circus ends with lackluster ticket sales, uncertainty about future


Aerialist Anna Volodko soars around the circus ring, twisting and spinning on a rope, during the opening performance of the Big Apple Circus at Charles R. Wood park in Lake George Saturday, July 14, 2012.
(JasonMcKibben jmckibben@poststar.com)
JAMIE MUNKS -- jmunks@poststar.com
from:  poststar.com
July 30, 2012
LAKE GEORGE -- Despite a slow start to the Big Apple Circus run in Lake George, local and circus officials are hopeful the village will again serve as a circus venue in future years.
But whether that will happen remained unknown Sunday as the performers completed their final show at the Charles R. Wood Park.

The goal is for the circus to fill about 50 percent of the 1,700 seats in the tent, village Mayor Robert Blais said, and in the first week sales were around 25 percent capacity. They increase increased to 35 to 40 percent at the beginning of the second and final week, he said.
He cited hot weather, road closures and detours around the circus site as factors that could have put a damper on ticket sales.
“I think with the hot, muggy weather, when a person comes here to visit, they want to be near the lake. That’s our major attraction,” he said. “And I think it did hurt on days when the road was closed for a time, and there was confusion about parking.”

The circus finished its run of shows in the Charles R. Wood Park on Sunday afternoon. Circus spokesman Joel Dein didn’t have a final tally Sunday of how many tickets were sold, but said as of last week “in excess of 15,000 tickets” had been sold over the company’s first Lake George run.
“New venues are a challenge because we’re not necessarily known in the area, but Lake George was exceedingly generous in their support, and there were really positive reactions from residents and the transient population,” he said.
Blais said it may take a few visits for the Big Apple Circus to become a well-known annual staple in the village.
“The first year, no matter where you play in a new area, the word has to get out,” Blais said. “Tourists probably didn’t even know the circus was here this year. But I believe if they come back the same weeks, like the car show or Americade and other things that are held at the same time every year, it will become a fixture and people will plan their vacations around it.”
The Big Apple Circus board of directors would need to approve another series of Lake George shows for next year.

 

“We would very much like that to happen — we’re hopeful we will be back next year,” Dein said.
Even if they are, construction will be taking place in the Charles R. Wood Park in the coming year, and the festival space may not be ready by the time the circus would return, Blais said.
Blais has consulted with Elan Planning, Design & Landscape Architecture about having Charles R. Wood Park, the former Gaslight Village site, ready for another Big Apple Circus appearance next year. If the park is under construction at that time, it will be a challenge to find another site in Lake George that works as well as a venue for the circus, though there may be other options.
The location off of West Brook Road allowed the trailers for the performers and crew to be on-site outside of the circus tent. The water and sewer collection systems at that site also worked well, Blais said.
In his tenure as mayor, Blais said he received more positive feedback about the circus than any other event in the village. And the feeling was apparently mutual — when Blais spoke to people who were in town with the circus, they praised the beauty of the area and talked about taking boat cruises around the lake.
“The fact is, too, they’re spending some money in the community,” Blais said. “It’s a win-win situation all the way around.”