THE BALLOON MAN: 2012-11-04

Saturday, November 10, 2012

TODAY IS
NATIONAL SMILE DAY!!

Don't Forget
"Let a SMILE be your Umbrella!"

INTERESTING CORRESPONDANCE
From Carlos Orta ortac@fiu.edu
To rngmstr55 rngmstr55@aol.com

Mr. Dykes--
I was fortunate to come across your blog while trying to find pictures of my parents on the internet. My name is Carlos Orta and like yourself I was also a candy butcher on the Beers Barnes Circus in between 1960 to 62. My parents brought me to the US from Cuba in 1960 and my first job was as a kid clown working along side with Charlie Beers and Roger Barnes doing white face. At the age of eight I was hired by Miss Irene who was Harold Barnes mother as she ran the concession stand and I remember those wonderful childhood summers carrying my snow cone tray filled with as many as 24 cones and running uo and down the bleechers. My father and mther were arialists on the show and went by Los Arias and The Ortas.

My father was very strict and insisted I practise every day on the trampoline, so much so that one season I remember that Harold was injured for a few days and I took his place on the trampoline act.

My parents had been in the US before in the 50's working on the Clyde Beatty Cole Bros Circus and they had left me in Cuba at the time to be raised by my Grand Mother. We also worked on the Mills Bros Circus I believe from 66 to 68 where I spent those cold winters in Jefferson Ohio. I remember many of the people on the show of which you have some pictures. I clearly remember KY the Bull trainer, Billy Gunga when he came over from England, the Pedrolas and the Funasari family musical clown act with Italo and Bepo.

I am now 59 and will be 60 this coming January and I still have flash backs of those days gone by that seem like another life time. Please write back as I would really enjoy chatting with you about the good old days...
Regards
Carlos Orta

CIRCUS NEWS FROM

"CIRCUS" PETE ADAMS

Heidi Herriott will be teaching line dancing this Sat at the club starting at 8 pm. Easy dances one can learn in an evening, great exercise and lots of fun. No partner needed! She uses a mix of country and pop. If it goes well, we can keep doing it.
Thanks!
Heidi
*************************************************

LOOMIS BROS CIRCUS Nov 16 7pm & 17 2&6 pm Sumter County Youth Center CR48e
Bushnell

*************************************************
Pete Adams
Certified Travel Consultant
Frosch Travel
pete.adams@frosch.com
circusp@comcast

What does it take to join the Sailor Circus kids in a world premier opera?

from: heraldtribune.com

By Alix Redmonde, Herald-Tribune

Friday, November 9, 2012

http://health.heraldtribune.com/2012/11/09/what-does-it-take-to-join-the-sailor-circus-kids-in-a-world-premier-opera/

SEATTLE'S

CHANCE GIANT WHEEL

Published on Aug 9, 2012
The Seattle Great Wheel provides a breathtaking view of Mt. Rainier, Seattle's skyline, the Olympic Mountains, and Elliot Bay. The R60 Giant Wheel stands at 175-feet
(53 meters) and is located on the waterfront at Pier 57 and extends 40 feet over Elliot Bay.

Circus rolls into town Monday

photo from Loomis Bros Circus facebook page
from: andalusiastarnews.com
by Stephanie Nelson
November 10, 2012
Get ready for great sites under the big top as the circus comes to town Monday.
The Loomis Bros. “America’s Best 3 Ring” Circus will perform two shows – 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. – at the Kiwanis Center.
Justin Loomis, circus producer and singing ringmaster, promises a spectacular show.
“It’s a truly traditional family circus with something for all ages,” Loomis said. “We have everything you think of when you think ‘circus.’
“We have the Poema family from Argentina who juggle with their feet,” he said. “Then, get a thrill as Russian swing excitement of the Chaotic Troop flies through the air with the greatest of ease, and of course there is Kathy Hannaford and her beautiful daft horse and one-of-a-kind acrobatic endeavor filled with aerial elegances. And there’s Melveno the circus clown, and did I mention the elephant?”
Loomis and his crew are especially proud of their performing pachyderm.
“Okha is the only elephant in North America that can walk on a ball,” Loomis said. “It’s amazing to watch. That ball weighs 300 pounds and has a steel core encased in fiberglass.”
Loomis said there will also be a petting zoo, pony rides, moon bounce and of course, elephant rides, beginning one hour before each performance. Concessions will also be available.
Cost is $15 per adult, which also includes free admission for two children age 12 and under. Tickets will go on sale one hour before each performance.
Each show lasts approximately one hour and 45 minutes. For more information, call 800-604-9864.

Carly Rae Jepsen, The Wanted Set to Perform at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
from: aceshowbiz.com
November 09, 2012
This year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will have a bunch of pop super acts who will be giving out their best holiday performances for the crowd. Carly Rae Jepsen and The Wanted have been confirmed as performers for the grand event happening on Thursday, November 22.

Other artists who have recently come on board the show are rapper Flo Rida, pop-rockers Neon Trees, singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, and pop duo Karmin. Additional celeb personalities appearing in the show include Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Whoopi Goldberg, Sandra Lee, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and classic acts like the Big Apple Circus and the Radio City Rockettes. More performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Senior Vice President of NBC's Special Programs, Doug Vaughan, is proud of this year's guest line up. "Since the first broadcast in 1948, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has become a tradition for families across America. This year we are thrilled to once again celebrate with some of the nation's best performers," said Vaughan in a press release for the parade.

"Today" show anchors, Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie are going to host the annual holiday-themed spectacle. Besides big name celebrity performers, audience of the parade will also be treated to a showcase of giant bouncing balloons, Christmas floats, marching bands, cheerleaders and greetings from Santa Claus himself.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will air on NBC from 9 A.M. - 12 P.M., all time zones.

Food, sex and art collide in cabaret/circus/dinner theater
Teatro ZinZanni’s tent-based variety show is unlike anything you’ve seen.

Joel Salom performs during the Teatro ZinZanni show "Love, Chaos & Dinner" next to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts Thursday night.
KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
By PAUL HODGINS / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
from: ocregister.com
November 9, 2012
"Breathe!" the dominatrix commands me.
She wags her whip. I nearly hyperventilate. Who would dare defy a six-foot-tall woman in black latex and a tight corset, her authority enhanced by a pair of 12-inch heels?
A little dinnertime kink is just part of the fun at Teatro ZinZanni's "Love Chaos & Dinner," playing through the end of the year in a tent pitched on the Arts Plaza near Costa Mesa's Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The three-hour show is a strange hybrid: part European cabaret, part circus, classed up with a five-course gourmet meal served by Patina Catering and concocted by Ross Pangilinan, executive chef at Leatherby's Café Rouge.

Teatro ZinZanni has attracted enthusiastic audiences in its birthplace, Seattle, and in San Francisco since 1998; this is its first visit to Southern California. The venue is an intimate, antique big-top called a Spiegeltent. The quirky structures were originally built in Belgium during the late 19th and early 20th centuries for traveling shows and festivals. The one in Costa Mesa is 100 years old and holds 285 at its tables and booths, surrounded by mirrors and colored-glass walls.

Guests sit in a circular space with no center pole. The action takes place on a small stage opposite the main entrance and in the middle of the room, where a platform is wheeled out for the performers. (Be warned: they spill out into the aisles, too, and they're looking for audience members to play with.)

Like Cirque du Soleil's productions, there's a rather superfluous story propelling the action in "Love, Chaos & Dinner." It is set during the golden era of radio, and we're witnessing a variety show being broadcast on RZ, Radio ZinZanni, as it is performed.
read more--
http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/dinner-377292-love-chaos.html

Feld to put its circus stamp on building

The ongoing construction at Feld Entertainment's new headquarters for producing its circus, ice and monster truck shows, and eventually its corporate offices.
Staff Photo by Thomas Bender
By Doug Sword
from: Sarasota Herald Tribune
Friday, November 9, 2012
ELLENTON - The beige, 100-foot-tall walls of the former Siemens plant that can be seen for miles along the Manatee River will not stay blank and bland much longer.
Circus folk are coming to town.
Feld Entertainment's $20 million-plus rehabilitation of the 575,000-square-foot plant — where the company that owns Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus will bring its worldwide production headquarters and possibly more — is moving at a brisk pace.
Work hit a high-point in August, when a construction crew of more than 400 was on site. A first phase of the buildout is set to be finished early next year.
Soon, Feld will begin customizing the site as a precursor to eventually bringing 235 jobs to the region.
Casey Rodgers, Feld's vice president of finance and strategic planning, looks at the blank exterior walls and imagines them capturing the attention of company owner Kenneth Feld.
"It's a canvas," Rodgers said, looking at one of the structures. "We have a flair our owner will exercise."
For Ringling, which had its winter headquarters in Sarasota beginning in 1927 and then in Venice from 1959 to 1989, the move to Manatee County is something of a homecoming. Feld's father, Irvin Feld, bought the circus in 1967, and Feld Entertainment has operated it since then.
Economic coup
Besides putting a dash of color on what was Southwest Florida's largest vacant building, landing Feld represents the largest in a series of economic development coups in recent years for Manatee County.
read more--
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20121109/ARTICLE/121109575/-1/news?Title=Feld-to-put-its-circus-stamp-on-building

FROM: Hernando County events calendar
By Phyllis Day, Times Staff Writer
from: tampabay.com
Friday, November 9, 2012

photo from Loomis Bros Circus facebook page
Under the big top: The Loomis Brothers Circus will perform Wednesday and Thursday at the Hernando County Fairgrounds, 6436 Broad St., Brooksville. There will be two performances each day, at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults; children 12 and younger are admitted free with paying adults (limit two children per adult). The circus is held in conjunction with Florida International Teaching Zoo in Bushnell; a portion of the admission cost will benefit the nonprofit zoo's endangered species and education programs. Call toll-free, 1-800-604-9864.

Holiday season around the corner

A pair of snowmen walk the Downtown Baraboo Christmas Light Parade route last year while keeping a Santa ornament afloat.
By Ed Zagorski, News Republic
from: wiscnews.com
The Nov. 17 Downtown Baraboo Christmas Light Parade marks the beginning of a busy shopping season for downtown Baraboo businesses.
“Each store does their own thing individually, but we all work together to bring people downtown and shop locally,” said Lacey Steffes, Downtown Baraboo, Inc. vice president.
Andy Johnson, who owns the Baraboo Music Store, said next Saturday his store will celebrate its 11th anniversary.
“We try to have a sale every November to kick off the holiday sales and as we get closer to the holidays we continue to have more sales,” Johnson said.
He said customers are following popular music from artists like Train, Jason Mraz and Kenny Chesney, which have driven up demand for ukuleles.
“We sold more of them in the last three years than the previous eight years in business,” Johnson said. “It’s blowing the doors off of everything else we have.”
The store used to stock three ukuleles and now has nearly 30.
read more:
http://www.wiscnews.com/baraboonewsrepublic/news/local/article_cdba6806-2ad7-11e2-abbf-001a4bcf887a.html
Nov 10, 2011

Carnival and Fair Operators Look to Book Talent at Boise Convention

Josh Gross
Performer Marcus Wilson came to Boise for the 87th Annual Rocky Mountain Fair Association convention.
by Andrew Crisp
from: boiseweekly.com
Fri, Nov 9, 2012
Here come the clowns. A group of state and county fairs from nine states and two provinces of Canada are at the Riverside Hotel through Saturday, Nov. 10, for the four-day Rocky Mountain Association of Fairs' 87th annual convention.
Between 100 and 150 fair officials are attending seminars on subjects including booking entertainers, conflicts with animals and marketing strategies.
All along the hotel's walls were fliers advertising entertainers, a few of which paid for their own showcase in front of the convention crowd. Over lunch, Sacramento, Calif., comedian and magician Kenn Serrano performed for a crowd of hundreds.

Andrew Crisp
Performers posted fliers looking to attract fair organizers to book them for shows.
"I paid $275 for that 20-minute slot," said Serrano.
Serrano spent 20 years performing in Maui, Hawaii, at resorts, but said business slowed down after 9/11. He said it's worth it to perform as part of the showcase—booking a show could amount to as much as $10,000.
Marcus Wilson, a comedy juggling performer, visited from Salt Lake City, Utah. He wasn't featured in a showcase—not every performer can have one each year—but he was hoping to network.
"I've got essentially a booth," he said. "They do a hospitality suite in your hotel room."

The flier, including those for Pippi the Clown, Adam the Great, and performers like Gwen Sebastian and Maddie Wilson, included the talent's room number so that fair organizers could see their shows in action.
"We try to get something for little kids," said Jerry Arnold, from Glasgow, Mont., board member of the East Montana Fair.
Arnold said the fair draws around 3,000 visitors. He was looking to find and book three or four performers at this year's conference, he said. In the past, his fair has booked hypnotist Chris Mayberry and Pippi the Clown.

"I like strolling acts, folks who walk around and do balloons and stuff," Arnold said.

State Fair sets 2013 as Year of Popcorn

Indiana State Fair
(WISH Photo/Marcus Collins, file).
from: wishtv.com
Friday, 09 Nov 2012,
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The 2013 Indiana State Fair will celebrate one of the state’s biggest – but perhaps not best-known – crops: popcorn.

"People have long known Indiana for being a tremendous corn-producing state, but very few folks know about our popcorn production," said Indiana State Fair Executive Director Cindy Hoye. "This is the year we make sure all Hoosiers realize that their main movie-watching snack was likely grown and manufactured right here in Indiana."

Indiana’s popcorn crop is the second-largest in the country, and almost all popcorn is grown in the U.S., the State Fair said in a news release. Indiana also has several popcorn companies, some dating back to the early 1900s.

The theme of next summer’s fair, though, will be “Fun at Every Turn.” The fair is set for Aug. 2-18.

It will be the seventh straight fair to shine a spotlight on the state’s agricultural products. Previously featured have been corn, trees, tomatoes, pigs, soybeans and dairy cows.

Friday, November 9, 2012

from Robert Cline
2:14pm Nov 8
The Circus Historical Society will be offering a huge special on some past editions of the Bandwagon. Each and every special will only be good for two months. This is the Last three weeks for this great speacial offer. We are making the third offering for the entire six issues of 1992. These issues are covered in detail on our website under the Bandwagon Magazine tab, indexes of Bandwagon Articles, then to 1957 to 1999.
These issues are filled with great circus history as authored by Bill Johnston, Joseph Bradbury, Gordon Carver, Orin C. King, John Polacsek, Fred D. Pfening III, Mark St. Leon, Stuart Thayer, Chang Reynolds and more.
Maybe you haven’t been in the CHS for 20 years and would love to read lots more about the circus or maybe you’re looking for that perfect gift already, but you can’t pass up a deal like this.
$25.00
...Includes the shipping in the US!

Make your check payable to the C.H.S. and mail it to: Bandwagon Special - 1992, 1075 W. Fifth Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43212 or you can use PayPal on our website at www.circushistory.org

Saddle Up! Texas Stampede opens chutes this weekend

The action will be wild and fast this weekend at the Allen Event Center when the PRCA-sanctioned Tom Thumb Texas Stampede saddles up for a two-day event beginning Friday at 10 a.m.

Photo courtesy of Tom Thumb Texas Stampede
By J. David Barron
from: allenamerican.com
Published:November 8, 2012
The 2012 Tom Thumb Texas Stampede opens its gates this weekend sporting world-class rodeo and headlining concerts at the Allen Event Center.

Tradition, pride and culture will be on display beginning at 10 a.m. Friday with the Western Heritage Festival, which runs until 10 p.m. both days of the celebration. The festival will feature a petting zoo, pony rides, stick horse races and the always-popular mutton-bustin' competition. A western marketplace will also be included.

Rodeo chutes open at 7:30 p.m. Friday when nearly 400 of the top cowboys and cowgirls in the world representing the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women's Professional Rodeo Association cinch up for what promises to be a wild ride. Dallas-based Carr Pro Rodeo is contracted to provide the bulk of the production and bucking stock.
read more--
http://www.allenamerican.com/articles/2012/11/08/allen_american/news/897.txt#share

How Animals See The World

Published on Jul 5, 2012

Life is all about perspective

WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Albany Fair opens

By Jay Polk

from: walb.com

Nov 07, 2012

ALBANY, GA (WALB) - It's one of Albany's most anticipated events, and it opened Tuesday on the city's south side.

The 66th annual Exchange Club Fair opened Tuesday and Wednesday thousands of people braved the chilly weather to see animals, eat foods that they might not ordinarily eat and of course ride the rides.

One of the rides joining the old favorites such as the Merry Go Round is a ride called the sky wheel, which fair officials say was a ride from years past that's returned after some TLC by the operator.

While some of the things are new, the effort that goes into putting on the fair is something that never changes.

"We come out here every Saturday morning and Tuesday night starting back in the first of September. We put a lot of hours, a lot of man hours into it. We probably spend five or six thousand man hours just getting this ready," said Larry Griffin, Exchange Club Fair President.

Griffin says that the Exchange Club fair has lower prices than most fairs and that most of the days feature deals that people can take advantage of to save more money.

Some still long for circus life
Age-old traveling show passes through Boca Raton

The Cole Bros. Circus is at the Royal Palm Polo grounds until Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012.
By Ben Wolford, Sun Sentinel
November 9, 2012
BOCA RATON—
— They call it the city that travels by night.
The great American three-ring circus arrived here in the dark hours of Thursday morning. By 8:30 a.m. the tent was up. Eight hours later, ringmaster Chris Connors would say words he has said millions of times: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls."
Traveling entertainment is as old as civilization. But in America, the circus is an emblem of the rugged individual, frozen in our imaginations somewhere between cowboys and railway hobos.
The modern circus is still a ticket to freedom and adventure. But it's also a lot of work. PETA hates you. And permitting the tents is a full-time job.
In the Cole Bros. Circus, which is at the Royal Palm Polo grounds until Sunday, that job belongs to Superstar Bill Dundee, the stage name for William Crookshanks.
The 69-year-old former pro-wrestler got into the entertainment business in 1960 when he joined the Bullens Circus in Australia as an elephant groomer. During the rainy season, they toured the bush by train and paraded into desert towns like an invading army.
These days, parades are usually code violations.
But "there are still a lot of kids in the States who still want to run away and join the circus," said Elvin Bale, 67, a human cannonball from London whose performing career ended after he broke his legs and back on an errant flight in Hong Kong. Now he recruits talent for Cole Bros.
"We just can't hire all the kids who want to do it," Bale said. Recently, he hired a lucky young clown they call Meatball, who filled a sudden opening. "I had just lost a clown who went on his own. He wanted to do parties and stuff."

( Sun Sentinel/Joe Cavaretta / November 9, 2012 )
Baby Hugo eats brerakfast Thursday. Nov. 8, 2012, at the Polo Grounds in Boca Raton for the Cole Brothers Circus.
Meatball is the nearest modern equivalent to a runaway (he showed up with his mom and asked for a gig). But most circus performers are either born into circus families or come up through formal circus training — people "who have found a vocation in what had been an avocation," as circus expert Ernest Albrecht put it.
Bale's father and grandfather were in the circus. So were Kellan Bermudez's. The 37-year-old Ecuadorean is a daredevil with Cole Bros. He spent his youth traveling South and Central America with his acrobat father and aerial ballerina mother. Now, his 9-year-old son, Keyan, follows him around the United States.

( Sun Sentinel/Joe Cavaretta / November 9, 2012 )
Julius Carallo, who performs as Chips the Clown is seen Thursday. Nov. 8, 2012, at the Polo Grounds in Boca Raton for the Cole Brothers Circus.

Nine months of the year, Bermudez, Connors and more than 100 other stage hands and talent roam the east coast, hopping to from town to town under the big top, as they say in the business. Unlike at Cirque du Soleil and Ringling Bros., which book arenas, these guys are proud to say they still erect a tent wherever they go, and they smirk when local inspectors kick the stakes.
After a Sunday matinee the stakes will come up and the tent will come down. The traveling city will head to Fort Myers, driving west into the setting sun.

Space Coast State Fair lights up Viera with unlimited rides, food and fun

The Space Coast State Fair will light up Space Coast Stadium in Viera through Nov. 18. / FLORIDATODAY
Written by Jennifer Sangalang
from: Floridatoday.com
Nov 8, 2012
For the next two weekends, bright lights, loud music and the smell of sinfully delicious fried fair food may just beckon you to the Space Coast State Fair at Space Coast Stadium in Viera.

The 26th annual event returns to the baseball stadium for its consecutive year there. Previously, the 10-day event was at the Cocoa Expo.

“They’ve got a spectacular new ride that’s never been here before — Speed,” said organizer Giles Malone. “It’s a 140-foot ride that spins in a complete circle so you have two baskets of four people on each end.

“It’s so huge and so unique. The G force, they say is very very strong,” he added. “It’s something we’ve never seen here before on the Space Coast.”

The fair opens Thursday and continues through Nov. 18 with specific shows for different days (see box). One must-see is 76-year-old aerialist Carla Wallenda of the Flying Wallendas, Malone said, where she climbs a 100-foot pole.

Other features include a petting zoo, musical entertainment as well unlimited free rides from open to close. “(Admission) includes everything, so it’s a great value,” Malone said.

Some extras include a beer and wine garden, local food vendors as well as traditional fair favorites like smoked turkey legs, strawberry shortcake, Italian sausage and cotton candy. According to a news release, more than 34,000 funnel cakes were consumed last year.
read more at:
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20121108/ENTERTAINMENT/311070053/Space-Coast-State-Fair-lights-up-Viera-unlimited-rides-food-fun

Swing around, the new family circus is in town

from: theage.com.au

Stephanie Gardiner Reporter

November 9, 2012

Webers Circus

Webers Circus comes to Sydney's Northern Beach

YOU do not have to run away to join the circus if you are in the Weber family.

Natalie and Rudy Weber, their siblings, three daughters, two grandchildren, son-in-law and nieces, along with their miniature ponies and dogs all call the big top home.

''We've been brought up in the circus all our lives,'' Mrs Weber says. ''My father and mother had a circus and the same with my husband's family; they were brought up in a circus in Germany.

''When we met we decided to then put our own circus together. ''I trained all my children and my brother-in-law's children as well.''

A troupe of South American performers, including the contortionist Miguel Santa who can squeeze into a glass bottle, have joined the show, which is at Boondah Reserve on Sydney's northern beaches.

It is a fast-paced show with a focus on traditional circus tricks, such as trapeze performers, jugglers, clowns, hula hoopers, and salsa dancers in bright, cascading skirts.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/swing-around-the-new-family-circus-is-in-town-20121108-290xh.html#ixzz2Bg5mqRT5

CHANCE RIDES

Published on Nov 8, 2012

The Chance Rides Vision for the next 50 years!

Tom Duffy's Circus 2012

Published on Aug 3, 2012

Tom Duffy's Circus 2012

Huzzah and Cheers: Sarasota Medieval Fair Returns

Come one, come all to the Sarasota Medieval Fair at the Sarasota Fairgrounds this weekend.

2012 Sarasota Medieval Fair
The Donegal Dogs, shown here performing at last year’s Medieval Fair, will also be performing this weekend. Credit: Sarasota Medieval Fair
from: Weekend Things By Deb Flessner
on: bradenton.patch.com
November 9, 2012
Every fall in Sarasota, families have the chance to be transported back into history and interact with kings and queens, peasants and farm workers—and it doesn’t even require a time machine.

Welcome to the ninth annual Sarasota Medieval Fair, where you can enjoy the games, food, drink, battles and atmosphere of Ireland, from the year 999.

“The scenario this year takes place in Ireland, where it’s the Leinster revolt of 999-1000 against the King of Munster, Brian Boru,” said Shannon Bowden, Medieval Fair marketing director. “The festival will prepare you for what will be quite a journey and experience as history reveals itself.”

The Medieval Fair, held at the Sarasota Fairgrounds starting Saturday, consists of what is essentially a traveling play. As you walk through the gates, you enter into a world consisting of people and scenes from the era being portrayed. Historically accurate characters walk through the grounds interacting with each other and with the guests, and the whole day culminates with a big battle at the end.

“The theme is the Battle of Glenn Máma,” Bowden said. “The scenario starts in the morning and you see how the sides come together throughout the day.”

Bowden said that this year, there are four kings, who at the end of each day will meet on the field of battle and decide who will gain final control over Ireland. Dean Bowden, Shannon’s husband and casting director of the fair, will be portraying one of the kings. He says that he has been performing in renaissance and medieval fairs since he was 15 years old.
read more--
http://bradenton.patch.com/articles/huzzah-and-cheers#photo-12088290

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Circus animals land in Ahmedabad cops' custody
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
from: dnaindia.com
Thursday, Nov 8, 2012
Police on Wednesday detained three trucks carrying animals for a circus in the city However the trucks were released after the circus owner produced the required documents
At around 8pm on Tuesday the police control room got a call from the NGO informing them about animals being transported in an inappropriate manner Following this Vastrapur police rushed to Pakwan crossroads on SG Highway There the cops detained three trucks One was carrying an elephant another had two elephants while the third one had birds cats and dogs.

While talking to the drivers, police officials learned that these were circus animals being transported from Himmatngar and scheduled to be taken to the open ground behind Doordarshan tower, the venue of the shortly opening Jumbo circus. To crosscheck, cops called the circus manger who showed the required papers to them.

“Primary observation revealed that everything was alright, so we have released the trucks and not lodged any complaint as of now, However, we are keeping a close watch on them and will take action if necessary in future” said M R Sharma, senior police inspector of Vastrapur

Edward Weston Baumann, 86, ‘journalist, author, railroader ... circus roustabout’

Obit photo of Ed Baumann, former Chicago journalist worked as a reporter and editor for Chicago papers. | Provided photo
BY MAUREEN O’DONNELL Staff Reporter
From: suntimes.com
November 7, 2012
Ed Baumann interviewed seductive fan dancers, hardened killers, legendary journalist Ben Hecht, and the first lady of the American stage, Helen Hayes.

A graceful writer and editor with a deadpan-but-wicked sense of humor, he had a front-row seat to the follies that made their way across the front pages of four Chicago newspapers over a span of four decades
Mr. Baumann, 86, who specialized in covering crime, courts and politics, and also wrote 10 true-crime books, died Tuesday at his stepdaughter’s home in Paxton, Ind.

Meticulous and thorough, he actually penned his own obituary, calling himself a “journalist, author, railroader, road builder, world traveler and circus roustabout.”

He wasn’t kidding. At the age of 66, he wrote, “he realized every boy’s dream and ran away to join the circus.”

He and his wife, Lenore, spent 13 summers volunteering at the Great Circus Parade grounds in Milwaukee, where he was a cowboy, animal handler and roustabout — a worker who sets up and breaks down tents.
read more at:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/16234567-418/edward-weston-baumann-86-journalist-author-railroader-circus-roustabout.html

UniverSoul Circus rolling into Greenboro

WS Chronicle
November 8, 2012
UniverSoul Circus had to juggle its performances in Greensboro to do make-good shows in Philadelphia after the city was hit by Hurricane Sandy.
The Circus will now be in the Triad from Nov. 27-Dec. 2 under its famous big top in the Greensboro Coliseum parking lot. The 2012 UniverSoul Circus show, entitled “US,” has won rave reviews around the nation, allowing the circus’ performers to wow even more fans.
The highly interactive circus combines circus arts, theater, and music that includes pop, classic R&B, latin, hip hop, jazz and gospel. UniverSoul’s performers come from all over the globe to take center stage. The UniverSoul Circus, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey and Cirque du Soleil are rated the nation’s top three circuses; the UniverSoul has also earned a spot of Ticketmaster’s top ten most requested family events.
The circus was founded in Atlanta by concert and theatre promoter Cedric Walker. It is now in its 19th year. More than 500 shows have been performed in 28 major markets.
Tickets range from $15 to $28.50. Children under one will be admitted for free. For tickets and showtimes, go to HYPERLINK “http://www.ticketmaster.com” www.ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-745-3000.

Gazette reporter tries out juggling at museum

Ringmaster Ross Farrer and Helen Morton
from: thisishampshire.net
by: Helen Morton
8th November 2012
I’M used to juggling deadlines but when I got the chance to try my hand at some circus skills at Milestones Museum, I found the experience was a completely different ball game.

Performers from Jay Miller’s Circus have been at the museum, holding classes in juggling, unicycling and more, and despite my natural ineptitude for all things remotely sporty and my dreadful co-ordination, I decided to give juggling a go.

I couldn’t have asked for a better tutor than Jay Miller’s Circus ringmaster Ross Farrer, who was among the performers coaching visitors to juggle. Sadly, despite his clear instructions and demonstrations, he couldn’t have had a more ham-fisted pupil.

Small children ran for cover as I inadvertently sent clubs and balls flying around the small area of the museum where the classes were being held.

Fortunately, I didn’t injure anyone except for myself, and the only damage done was to my earring, which I managed to knock out while accidently clubbing myself in the face.
The endlessly patient Ross was gently reassuring, telling me to ignore the laughing bystanders and encouraging me to juggle with more and more balls and clubs.

By the end of my half-hour session with Ross, I had managed to juggle with two clubs a few times and had once successfully mastered juggling three balls.
Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be running off to join the circus any time soon but I certainly have a new-found respect for all the performers, who make the most incredible feats look deceptively easy.

Jay Miller’s Circus is holding performances at Milestones in a big top until Sunday. For more details visit jaymillerscircus.co.uk.

Magician Paul Daniels launches Milestone's Magic exhibition
*Milestones Museum's new Magic exhibition, including live magical performances, optical illusions, display items and magic workshops, will astonish visitors until Sunday, January 6, 2013. Paul Daniels has lent the exhibition two of the large touring props as used by him and his wife Debbie McGee in many shows, in addition to a number of costumes and trophies.
read more at:
http://www.thisishampshire.net/news/10033683.The_circus_comes_to_Milestones/

Arizona State Fair sees jump in attendance

By Jim Cross
from: ktar.com
Originally published: Nov 5, 2012
PHOENIX -- The three-week Arizona State Fair wrapped up Sunday at the Arizona State Faigrounds with the best numbers since the recession began.

More than 1.1 million people took in the rides and exhibits this year, 76,000 than last year.

"Not the record but close," said Kristi Walsh with the fair. "We had 1.2 million in 2007. We're moving back in a positive direction."

Walsh said perfect weather in the past few days helped contribute to the boost in attendance.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

LOUISIANA STATE FAIR

from: shreveporttimes.com
Nov 7, 2012

Zarkana by Cirque du Soleil Extended Trailer

MOSCOW STATE CIRCUS
From: timeout.com/london

'Babushkin Sekret' is a new show inspired by the legend 'The Twelve Chairs', devised by the world-famous circus, featuring a revolving chandelier act, acrobatics from the Whirlwind Rubsovsm troupe, clowns Valik and Valerik and others.

The National Circus of the People's Republic of China in Cirque Chinois
(Direct from Beijing)
Tue Nov 20th, 2012 7:30 pm

from: ubcfa.org
$26.50, students & children $16.50, $23.50 groups (15 or more)
One of China's most acclaimed and influential circus troupes introduces a spectacular new production for its inaugural North American tour.

Cirque Chinois.Direct from Beijing, audiences of all ages will appreciate the jaw-dropping feats of these highly-skilled artists. Renowned worldwide for their signature acts such as the Great Teeterboard, Grand Flying Trapeze, and Group Contortion, the troupe received numerous international awards and has performed to universal acclaim. For nearly six decades, the National Circus of the People's Republic of China has been performing its unique brand of circus. Come enjoy this one-of-a-kind experience filled with juggling, flying trapeze, contortions, and more.