A couple of weeks ago, I found out that I had won 4 tickets to go see Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I was on cloud 9 when I found out. I haven't been to the circus in years. It was actually off my radar, but I'm not even sure why. I knew that a year ago they'd gotten rid of the elephant act, but other than that, I didn't know much about it.
I only recently found out that they were closing their shows for good in May! I was so shocked. After I saw the show I was even more shocked. My thinking is there must be a lot of people like me who don't realize how "with the times" the show really is. As excited as I was to go, I thought it was going to be low tech and maybe some clowns juggling. For real, that's the image I had in my mind. Do you really think of the circus as being high tech? Probably not if you haven't seen a show for years.
We got there early because early people were able to meet some of the people in the show and do other fun activities. I wasn't super impressed by it. We took pictures with a handful of the stunt people who were standing around. One guy, every time we tried to catch his attention would wander off. Like we literally could NOT catch his eye, even when he was just finishing taking a picture with a family. Some of the clowns, cute clowns not mail order looking clowns, were making their way through the audience of those who were already sitting down. You could take pictures around a merry-go-round looking tiger or have your face painted as well for a pretty spendy price. I mean of course it is. lol
There are two shows currently finishing up the Greatest Show on Earth: Out of this World (which we saw and Circus Xtreme. As the audience waited for the show to start there were some fun acts to watch. A trainer came out with a single tiger and did some cute tricks with him. The different troupes would come out to show they were there, AND...did you know that it's partially on ICE?! Who knew?!
As soon as the show began, I knew it was going to be out of this world. Yes, I totally just said that. The show was out of this world, but the large family that sat behind us left a lot to be desired! You can pick your seats, but you can't pick the people who sit around you. Let's just say, the 4 of us weren't amused and the bottom of my purse ended up sopping wet.
I have to admit, I didn't go through the Ringling site to look through all of the acts or watch the video showing what to expect from the show. I just showed up. Silly me! There's literally something for everyone! My oldest son who barely cracks a smile at the funniest thing that could ever be said posted THREE times to Facebook: two pictures and a video. That's some of the highest praise anyone could get!
The animals of course were probably the favorite part for me. Not sure if it was the horse tricks, the tigers and lions, or the farm animals/dogs. What was sometimes hard about the show was knowing where to look. On one half of the rink were the farm animals walking around doing tricks and at the other end were the dogs and two huge pigs (yes pigs) doing fun things. I wanted to watch them both. The same thing happened a couple other times during the show. Just made me wish I was closer and was going another night. lol
We ended up missing the entire trapeze act because of getting a snack and the longest wait line for the women's bathroom. There's an intermission and then the trapeze act immediately starts. Well, they should probably start with a 3-5 min clown act for all of the stragglers to get back in. Who knew there'd be so many women who had to pee at once? What I didn't realize until maybe half way through the show was they have a live band. You can see them below. They were actually right where all the acts came out, but I think I was just so fascinated by who and what was coming out to perform, I just looked right past them.
One of the highlights of the show was the motorcyclists in the dome! My oldest son liked it so much, he shared it on Facebook, and he never shares anything! If you watch the third video in this Instagram spread you'll see them. In the first one you'll see the contortionists in the globes floating around. Aren't they spectacular?
Altogether, the kids and I had an amazing night. I wish I had gone to more shows over the years, and I'm sad that this American icon is going away. I hope that all of the people who have given their lives to the circus find work that fits their abilities.
One of the highlights of the show was the motorcyclists in the dome! My oldest son liked it so much, he shared it on Facebook, and he never shares anything! If you watch the third video in this Instagram spread you'll see them. In the first one you'll see the contortionists in the globes floating around. Aren't they spectacular?
Altogether, the kids and I had an amazing night. I wish I had gone to more shows over the years, and I'm sad that this American icon is going away. I hope that all of the people who have given their lives to the circus find work that fits their abilities.
When was the last time you went to the circus?
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