ASSOCIATION CIRCUS MEMBERS From The Center Ring Connecting & Protecting the Circus Industry! I
Rodney Huey, RAH PR Strategies OABA Circus Media Consultant
t is official! Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is return- ing to America’s greatest live family entertainment scene September 28, 2023. A national announcement was made on the NBC Today Show May 18, followed by a piece in The New York Times. It was clearly the biggest circus story of the year! Securing two exclusive media outlets, Producer Juliette Feld
and CEO Kenneth Feld of Feld Entertainment, Inc., parent company of RB&BB, announced the show’s return with great flair in the press and on national television. According to NBC-TV correspondent Kerry Sanders, the new show will be vastly dif- ferent from the old one. There will be no performing animals, no pratfalling clowns, no ringmaster, and no three circus rings (all traditional Ringling hallmarks) . . . just the greatest circus talent from around the world performing in a new circus configuration. Sanders' summation sparked a flurry of social media mis- chief from stalwart Ringling fans. Nonetheless, the Felds properly set the stage for a comeback, leaving the rest to our imagination. What a Barnumesque stunt! Kudos to Steve Yaros, Feld’s Senior Vice President of Global Public Relations, for putting The Greatest Show On Earth back on the “front page” of America’s premier media! In other circus news, UniverSoul Circus kicked off an extended run June 30 at National Harbor outside Washington, DC. Cirque du Soleil is touring two shows do- mestically in July: Crystal in Providence (RI); Cleveland (OH); Elmont (NY) and Bridgeport (CT); and Alegría in Portland (OR) and Sacramento (CA). Circus Vargas is in San Luis Obispo (CA) through July 11 while Circo Hermanos Caballeros mean- ders throughout The Golden State. Flynn Street Circus will play its hometown of Mendocino plus Sausalito, Rohnert Park, Capitola, and Petaluma in California this month. Circus Bella will present three performances of Flip*Flop*Fly in Reno (NV) as part of the Art Town Festival! July 2–3 before returning to Studio One Art Center in Oakland (CA) July 8 followed by gigs at the TJPA Salesforce Park Amphitheater July 10 and PROXY Hayes Valley July 16 in San Francisco; and at Point San Pablo Harbor in Richmond July 17. Admission to all performances is free with a “suggested donation of $20.” Also in the Bay Area, 7 Fingers continues its run of Dear San Francisco at the Club Fugazi. Founders Gypsy Snider and Shana Carroll also have created two new productions for Virgin Voyages cruise lines titled Duel Reality and Ships in the Nights. Circo Hermanos Vazquez will be in King of Prussia (PA) through July 10 before trekking to Atlanta (GA) July 15 through the end of the month. Its sister production Flip!, featuring for- mer Ringling headliner David Larible, will be in Hanover (MD) through July 4 and then opens July 8 in Charlotte (NC). Garden Bros. Circus is in Portland (ME) July 1–3 and West Springfield (MA) for the rest of the month. Venardos Circus hits Tacoma (WA) and Colorado Springs (CO) this month. The equestrian display Cirque Ma’CEO per- forms at the Big Sky Horse Park in Missoula (MT) July 1–3. Do
Portugal Circus is in Littleton (CO) July 15–24 and the Zoppe Family Circus is in Fraser (CO) July 22–August 1. Circus Fantastic is following a Western Canadian itinerary this month while the “adults only” Cirque Risque is at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City (NJ) throughout the summer. The Grand Shanghai Circus, featuring Acrobats of China, is enjoy- ing its 22nd year in Branson (MO) with daily shows Tuesday through Sunday.
After a two-year hiatus, Circus Smirkus, America’s only touring youth circus, will launch On the Road Again in its hometown of Greensboro (VT) July 2, then head out on a four-state, six-city, 34-show tour: Essex Junction (VT); Hanover (NH); Marshfield (MA); Waltham (MA); Newbury (MA); and Kennebunkport (ME); plus a performance at the SMIRKTACULAR Gala in Waltham July 28. In St. Paul (MN), the all-youth Circus Juventas presents its Summer Show titled CONFETTI under the CJ Big Top July 29.
Summer is meeting, convention, and festival time for circus enthusiasts. The International Circus Hall of Fame will hold a circus auction July 17 in Peru (IN) and host a Circus Calliope and Mechanical Music Festival July 16–17. The city’s Annual Circus City Festival July 18–23 will be capped off with an ol’ fashioned Circus Parade on the 23rd. Circus Model Builders will hold its convention in Peru July 13–25 with its own auction July 17, while Windjammers will gather in Springfield (MO) July 12–17. The Imperial Session of the International Shrine Clown Association will be held in San Antonio (TX) July 4–8, and the International Jugglers Festival will be held in Grand Rapids (IA) July 11–17. The Circus Historical Society will meet at the Trumbull Marriott in Bridgeport (CT) July 24–27. A Tree Dancing Workshop, in collaboration with a certi- fied arborist, will be hosted by Nimble Arts of Brattleboro (VT) July 2–7 whereby participants will “learn the ropes of how to ascend into trees and dance with them in this outdoor combination of aerials, harness dancing and creativity.” The Charlotte (NC) Cirque and Dance Creation Lab will host ten days of focused circus training July 18–29 with a public performance July 30. American Circus Educators will present an online Discussion Series session on “myofascial release, mobility, and recovery for the shoulder” for students July 12 conducted by RAD Mobility Continuum co-founder and biomechanics expert Mike Mallory. Meanwhile, Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance of Boulder (CO) will host the 24th International Aerial Dance Festival July 31–August 12. Finally, old train cars seem never to die! Two former Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train cars have been sold via a North Carolina state surplus property website to tourist train operators: Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad of Romney (WV) who plans to “use its new car as a place for contractors and employees to stay while they’re working;” and Conway Scenic Railroad in the White Mountains (NH). Oh, what stories those cars could tell!
JULY 2022 | OABA ShowTime Magazine 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
