Under the Big Top
We went to the circus last night. A small circus, it is at the east end of the Northtown mall. Started Wednesday, goes through Sunday, I think. Shows at 5 and 7:30.
There were pony rides outside, so Hanna took a little ride. She quite enjoyed that. The person overseeing the rides was a woman not a whole lot taller than Hanna. While Hanna was doing that, John wanted to go jump in a big inflatable jumping thing.
I kinda felt sorry for the circus performers, in that there were only 25 people or so as the audience. I don't know where they've been publicizing it. I hadn't heard anything about it. We knew about it because someone where Rhonda works gave her some free tickets for the kids. (They handed out some free tickets at the end of the circus. Their strategy must to get the kids, but gouge the adults. It was $15 per adult to get in!)
But, they did their show, and it was enjoyable. The ringmistress would say showbiz stuff like "hold on to your seats", even though the acts really weren't something that would blow us off of our seats. Still, they were talented and did some neat things.
Hanna just loved it. She was enthralled. During a break, she said "do you want to see my tricks?", and then proceeded to do her own circus act. I held her hand, but she'd step or jump from bench to bench on the wooden bleachers, then stop and theatrically roll her hands and spread her arms, and kinda stick out a leg and point her toe. She was so precious. She wasn't giggly about it, she was very sincere, very "professional". Ha!
John was ready to leave before it was over, but he didn't fuss too much. At the end they had a decent-sized elephant come out and do tricks with a little girl. That was neat. (And the elephant did both jobs right in the middle of the ring before leaving. Left a nice pile right on top of a stand. Thanks, Dumbo!)
The circus would try to sell some things, brought around popcorn, cotton candy, etc... I don't think many people bought stuff. They offered "genuine circus roasted peanuts." Although, I highly doubt someone was out back roasting the peanuts just for us. That must be a hard life, going from place to place like that, performing for small crowds.
There were pony rides outside, so Hanna took a little ride. She quite enjoyed that. The person overseeing the rides was a woman not a whole lot taller than Hanna. While Hanna was doing that, John wanted to go jump in a big inflatable jumping thing.
I kinda felt sorry for the circus performers, in that there were only 25 people or so as the audience. I don't know where they've been publicizing it. I hadn't heard anything about it. We knew about it because someone where Rhonda works gave her some free tickets for the kids. (They handed out some free tickets at the end of the circus. Their strategy must to get the kids, but gouge the adults. It was $15 per adult to get in!)
But, they did their show, and it was enjoyable. The ringmistress would say showbiz stuff like "hold on to your seats", even though the acts really weren't something that would blow us off of our seats. Still, they were talented and did some neat things.
Hanna just loved it. She was enthralled. During a break, she said "do you want to see my tricks?", and then proceeded to do her own circus act. I held her hand, but she'd step or jump from bench to bench on the wooden bleachers, then stop and theatrically roll her hands and spread her arms, and kinda stick out a leg and point her toe. She was so precious. She wasn't giggly about it, she was very sincere, very "professional". Ha!
John was ready to leave before it was over, but he didn't fuss too much. At the end they had a decent-sized elephant come out and do tricks with a little girl. That was neat. (And the elephant did both jobs right in the middle of the ring before leaving. Left a nice pile right on top of a stand. Thanks, Dumbo!)
The circus would try to sell some things, brought around popcorn, cotton candy, etc... I don't think many people bought stuff. They offered "genuine circus roasted peanuts." Although, I highly doubt someone was out back roasting the peanuts just for us. That must be a hard life, going from place to place like that, performing for small crowds.
2 Comments:
At Fri Jul 15, 08:29:00 AM, Technomage said…
I remmeber a similliar experience with a circus in the early 90's. My Kids thought is was great, they were 4 and 5. Many other kids the same age seem to be having a good time, but thier parents could have not been more bored. Cable TV, Special Effects Movies and more entertainment options have jaded most people.
At Fri Jul 15, 11:20:00 AM, Jeff said…
Some of the performers seemed a little bored, or that they were just going through the motions. When they posed at the end of their act, they tended to look not at the audience, but at some vague point on the back wall of the tent.
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