“WE HAVE EVERYTHING THAT A CIRCUS MUST HAVE" -- Marvin Spindler

“WE HAVE EVERYTHING THAT A CIRCUS MUST HAVE" -- Marvin Spindler
Horses, Camels, Ponies, Donkeys and Dogs Coming to 18 American Cities ...

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Carson & Barnes Trucks Ready to Re-Roll, the Tents to Rise Again as 2017 Tour Resumes in Texas ...

And pray that Hurricane Harvey will be nowhere near The Colony, Texas on September 9.

That's when the show resumes its tour, as they promised to do when they  shuttered the summer dates for a hiatus.

Per the show's website policy, two weeks are listed in advance.  After The Colony (located well above Dallas),  the arrows will point down through Arkansas and Mississippi, and thence onto Selma, Alabama, and as far as Mobile, on September 24.

Tickets range from $6 for a child booked in advance, to $26 for adults on the day of the show.  Website offers a free-kids ticket printout, requiring the accompaniment of an adult.

Program, as before established, seems to stay the course, offering a fairly pleasing mixture of big top thrills, including foot juggling, revolving cube, lira, perch pole, horses, comedy from Mickie the Clown, balancing on spheres, elephants, rolling globes, contortion, and the Wheel of Death.

On paper, ground action would appear to take precedence over in-the-air exploits.

First half closer, the CircusSaurus production, about which I've heard good things, remains on the bill, and it makes for impressive ad copy.  Still, the incorporation of elephants decked out as dinosaurs begs the question, is this the wisest thing to do?   Yes, a very impolite question to ask.  Like it or not, the elephant-thing is surely the most vexing and divisive issue that every circus own must face these days.   What I would really like to know is if the Melha Shrine up in Mass. won back the crowds they lost in 2016, people who stayed away because there were no elephants.  Did those customers return this year to enjoy the reinstated pachyderms?


How long might the Byrds keep their tent in the air on this fall tour?

Here is what to look for, and what to (possibly) make of it.

Four weeks: A good faith effort to stay the course, lending hope for 2018.

Eight weeks: Assuming business picks up, a respectable showing in the most difficult of tent trouping times.

Ten weeks plus: Very promising for next year

And that’s the way it is. 

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