Circus Comes To Glenville

Last Monday, the Lewis and Clark Circus came to town. I took my Judy on a date to this event. The circus tent was erected on the lot in front of Foodland and the Pioneer Car Wash. The circus was sponsored by the Gilmer County Fire Department.






There was a petting zoo with a llama, burros, lambs, goats, and the cutest minature Brahman bull (See also Zeu cattle). As with all traveling circuses, the space limitations for these animals were beyond minimal.



This baby goat has the right idea! Increase the space by a technique called "layering"!




Only one inflatible slide was on the site. This is Brenda Marks' granddaughter sliding down the plastic mountain.


For five dollars, your kid could ride the camel. If a circus does anything well, it is marketing. Guess in these days that technique is essential if one is going to survive in most business endeavors.


Another animal ride for kids was the thrilling (?) 360 degree pony ride. Poor ponies! I bet at night travel are still walking in circles in their sleep.

Ok- I love circus performances, but I do not really enjoy the animal acts and exhibits. Being a biologist, I can feel the frustration in the animals up close and personal. My heart was so sad when I realized that three beautiful Bengal tigers were exhibited in the hot sun in a cage the size just a little larger than our van! As you see, I could not even get close enough to take a closeup of this exhibit. THIS IS WRONG!!!

We do enjoy the acrobats, jugglers, and clowns. Judy and I are always amazed at the life of a circus performer. I am certain that they are close knit families that have the skills that are shared from one generation to the next. I know we could not survive the constant moving. (That is even if Judy could be an aerial acrobat and I would be the person on The Wheel of Death.

The Wheel of Death was an outside performance that occured before and after the main show inside the tent. This fellow (Emmanuel) was outstanding. (Yes, he even walked on the outside of the Death Wheel!) Now, if I were trained in this act, I would have to use a cane and walker. The viewers would have no doubt why this act is called The Wheel of Death. That is a chuckle for you all! Just kidding - we are EXTREMELY happy in our retirement.)

It was time for the big show. The Fitzwater family greeted Miss Judy. We had no grandkids to take to the show this evening so Judy took her only kid around - ME!

Inside the tent, the marketing went on. Optic fiber light fountains and flashing sabers were available. Snowcones and popcorn were the gourmet offerings. How about a Sponge Bob Square Pants Balloon for only five dollars?

The Ring Master was interesting fellow. He introduced all the acts. As mentioned the horse/camel acts and the dog performance were not too exciting for me. The worse part was Farmer Brown and his trained goats. All goats were on leashes and Farmer Brown more or less pulled them through their acts. They did only those things goats normally do. Seems they could do this with out leases. (Maybe the leashes were to protect the audience from the dangers of chopping molars!)

As mentioned earlier the acrobrats and jugglers were great. The Ayala family and the duo, Emmanuel and Elizabeth, were really skilled preformers. The Ayala family below did a variety of comedy, balancing, and juggling.

Below are Emmanuel and Elizabeth demonstrationing their balancing skills.

I will close this posting with Miss Elizabeth's aerial act that was the close of the tent show of the Lewis and Clark Circus. See you all tomorrow. Can not believe tomorrow is August 1!