by kellie abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
The circus has always been a magical, incredibly exciting place for me. I remember being a little girl and seeing the trapeze artists, acrobats, clowns, all the animals and just being so awestruck by the whole spectacle. Today, I’m much older and a lot more cynical, but I can’t help being excited about seeing the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus this weekend. The circus has officially rolled into town and will be here until January 21.
“We’re one year older than baseball,” Melinda Rosser, a spokesperson for the Greatest Show on Earth, proudly proclaimed when I spoke with her earlier this week. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has been enchanting children of all ages for 137 years.
Showman P.T. Barnum began his career in 1835, when he was just 25 years old. His earliest shows featured “curiosities from every corner of the globe” such as General Tom Thumb, the Fiji Mermaid and Siamese twins Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker. Thirty-five years later, Barnum launched the largest circus venture in American history: P.T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan, and Circus. The shows were an instant success and by 1872, Barnum had dubbed his enterprise as “The Greatest Show on Earth”. James A. Bailey, a long-time circus manager, joined forces with Barnum in 1881. The two attracted enormous crowds with their acquisition of Jumbo the elephant a year later. By 1888, the business partners were touring around the world with their “Barnum and Bailey Circus”.
P.T. Barnum died in his sleep in 1891, leaving Bailey to handling the circus on his own. Meanwhile, five brothers from Wisconsin were making a name for themselves for their entertaining shows and honest dealings with the public. The Ringling brothers were able to purchase the Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1907, after Bailey passed away. Twelve years later, the circus we all know and love, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, was born.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is now owned and run by the Feld family. Since they acquired the circus, the Felds have continued to provide quality family entertainment and have used the name and reputation of the enterprise to do some good. In 1995 Ringling Bros. established its Center for Elephant Conservation.
“Its a 250-acre facility where, just last year, we celebrated the 20th birth of an Asian elephant,” Rosser said. “We have the largest gene pool outside of Southeast Asia, and we actually are the experts in raising and rearing Asian elephants… We’re trying to save the Asian elephant population because there are less than 35,000 in the world and if we don’t take the lead on it, as we have been, we will see the demise of this species and it will be on the extremely endangered list of species in the next 20 years and they could all be gone within 40-50 years.”
The entertainment giant is now taking on childhood obesity with its new program CircusFit, which can be experienced before the shows and accessed at www.circusfit.com.
“It’s a step by step process that the kids and parents and teachers can also go through to help,” Rosser explained. “[It gives] basic facts like hydration, strength training, encompassing jumping rope or the dash or eraser tag. And then there’s fun projects for the kids. They can download postcards to send to their friends or decals or logos suitable for printing on your home computer and putting them on tee shirt transfers. So, it’s an interactive, very easy web site.”
If you’re planning a trip to the circus this week, the All-Access Pre-Show is something you don’t want to miss. Every ticket holder is invited to come to the arena an hour early to get a behind-the-scenes look at life under the big top. You can get up-close and personal with an elephant, become part of a clown gag and get autographs from actual circus performers. This special event happens before each performance and is sure to be a hit with kids of all ages.
In honor of the circus’ 137th birthday, the performers have cooked up a special “Bellobration”. Time Magazine’s pick for “America’s Best Clown,” Bello Nock, will take center stage with his wild and crazy act.
“It’s been four years since the Jacksonville community has seen Bello perform,” Rosser said. “Two years ago when the show came through he had been injured and did not perform for the first 12 weeks… So this is Bello up to his usual antics. You will see all the energy and the excitement. All his stunts can be nail-biting and funny at the same time.”
Speaking of nail-biting, the Bellobration show will feature several death-defying routines from some fearless duos. Rosser gave me a sneak peek at what circus-goers can expect:
“We have two daredevils who are defying the laws of gravity atop the Wheel of Steel. And the wheel is unique in itself, I don’t want to give it away, but it’s very unique… There are two brothers who have changed your traditional high wire act. [Normally] there’s just one wire. This time the two brothers are doing it on a duel high wire side-by-side. They’re jumping back and fourth, doing flips over each other blindfolded… We have a married couple Brian and Tina Miser who shoot out of a double cannon. So they explode across the arena and you have to keep your eye on it because there are some changes that take place by the time you go “5,4,3,2,1, BANG!” and it’s a nice finale.”
Rosser promises that the show will be completely different from what you’ve experienced in the past.
“You’ll definitely notice a huge change in the show if you haven’t been in many years. Just the excitement level and how together and just how energizing it is. You’ll walk out of there and go Wow that was fun!”
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will have performances from Wednesday January 17 until Sunday, January 21. Tickets are currently on sale and range in price from $14 to $24. A limited number of front row, VIP seats and special “Circus Celebrity” tickets, which allow you to actually be a part of the show, are also available. To order tickets go to www.ticketmaster.com or call (904) 353-3309.
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