THE BALLOON MAN

Shrine Circus comes to town (Pittsburg,PA)

Paint camels look different than other camels: chocolate brown in color with white spots. Several will perform at this weekend’s Shrine Circus, and rides will be offered to audience members.

from: post-gazette.com

By Pohla Smith / Pittsburgh Post-Gazett

April 3, 2014 

The regular ringmaster quit and left the Shrine Circus the day before it was to begin a performance here in 1985, so the producer asked animal trainer Ian Garden Jr. to fill in. Mr. Garden had learned how to lead the ring from his experienced father but had never done it himself. Though nervous, Mr. Garden agreed.

“Since then I’ve done thousands of them,” he said.

He doesn’t expect to fill in for current Shrine Circus ringmaster Billy Martin during this weekend’s visit of the Shrine Circus to the Consol Energy Center, but he’ll still be plenty busy with his regular job. He’ll be leading six rare paint camels through a “waltz.” It ends with its lead paint camel giving his human trainer a touching thanks.

“It’s a pretty formation routine,” the animal trainer said, “and at the end my leader, Pasha, he gives me a kiss; gives me a hug; wraps his whole neck around my body.

“That’s something you don’t see too often.”

The appearance by the paint camels — there are only 40 in the United States — will be one of the highlights of the Shrine Circus, which celebrates its 65th anniversary this year. There also will be appearances by Spider-Man, Grandma the Clown, the Human Fuse, trapeze artists, elephants, tigers, bears, motorcycles, magic and other clowns.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/theater-dance/2014/04/03/Shrine-Circus-comes-to-town/stories/201404030134#ixzz2xq6eoptx