THE BALLOON MAN

Circus a Victoria family tradition

 

from:  victoriaadvocate.com
By Caty Hirst - CHIRST@VICAD.COM
January 22, 2013
Dressed in bright red, wearing fake eyelashes and carefully painted makeup, the circus peddlers weaved through the crowds, hawking the essentials - cotton candy, popcorn and stuffed animals.
In the arena below, giant white tigers pawed the air, poodles jumped through high hula hoops, elephants stood on each other's backs and fairies danced on ropes from the ceiling.
It is just another day at the George Carden International Circus, which has been coming to Victoria for more than 30 years.
Daniela Pena, of Victoria, first came to the circus when she was a little girl.
On Tuesday, she got to bring her 4-year-old daughter, Jilliana, for the first time.
The pair didn't even mind being in the standing-room-only crowd at the Victoria Community Center.
The pair didn't even mind being in the standing-room-only crowd at the Victoria Community Center.
"It hasn't changed," Pena said, smiling as Jilliana eagerly pointed to the acrobats. "It is the same - it is still so exciting."
Jilliana quickly asked her mom if she could join the circus, so she could be a "fairy like the other girls."
"I want to hang from the ceiling like the other girls did. I just want to hang like that because it was so cool. So when can I do it, Mom? Because I'm already 4," Jilliana pointed out to her mom.
That spark is what it is all about said George Carden, owner of the circus.
read more:
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2013/jan/22/ch_circus_012313_199938/