THE BALLOON MAN

Circus Arrives in St. Charles, IL Next Week
Piccadilly Circus bills an hour of fun time for children before each show. Performances are scheduled Wednesday through Sunday at the Kane County Fairgrounds.
 

A performer poses with an elephant for Piccadilly Circus.
Credit Courtesy of Piccadilly Circus
By Ted Schnell
from  stcharles-il.patch.com
August 8, 2012
The big top is coming to St. Charles!
If you see a tent going up at the Kane County Fairgrounds next week, don’t be surprised. It won’t be easy to miss, either — the blue and gold European-style tent is the big top for Piccadilly Circus, which has scheduled two shows daily Wednesday through Friday and three each on Saturday and Sunday.
Billing itself as the Piccadilly Circus Blast! Edition, the circus opens one hour prior to each show with its Kids Fun Zone that includes elephant rides, pony rides, a free petting zoo and more amid theater seating in a climate-controlled big top, according to a release.
In its release, Piccadilly Circus boasts attractions such as:
•Racing camels — the largest herd of performing camels in the world.
•Oka, a 9,000-pound Asian elephant, demonstrates balance standing atop a 3-foot ball and rolling across the circus ring. Oka is joined by a herd of African and Asian elephants and dancing zebras.
•The Romanian Olympic High Bar Team performs feats, such as being shot high in the air by a giant catapult as others dive from the very heights of the 80-foot-tall big top.
•Motorcycles defy gravity, showgirls on stilts tower above the audience and giant wheels of death rotate at breathtaking speeds.
•The world’s funniest circus comedian. There’s also the smallest bike on the planet.
Tickets and show times are available online at www.thefuncircus.com or by phone at 1-877-373-0477. All seats are general admission. Advance deals include free kids and two-for-one adult tickets.