The news that the Ringling Bros circus is folding is making me sad. Just saw Bello the Clown talking on msnbc. I remember first seeing him when my own kids were little and we’d go to the Big Apple Circus every year, which I always preferred to Ringling. So, I just read that Big Apple is bankrupt and is in the process of selling off their assets in bankruptcy proceedings. I feel ancient thinking that future generations won’t have a circus experience. 
What do parents do with their young kids these days? Is it just video games for entertainment?
Sad. Seems like going to a big circus is a right of passage for kids. Is the company closing down, or are they keeping their other shows going? I think they do the most rei truck shows, and I don’t know what else.
an acquaintance of mine is an “important person” at the company. I’m guessing he will be impacted. Fkrtunately, he’s in a marketable field, but many of their employees will really struggle. Another “American institution” gone.
I think the newer version of the circus is Cirque du Soleil. Growing up, going to the circus was a big deal but now I don’t think the younger kids appreciate it that much since there are so many other options for entertainment.
I went to Ringling Bros. as a kid but took my own kid and nieces and nephews to Cirque du Soleil. It is especially interesting that Ringling Bros. is shutting down right when there is a huge upsurge in interest in circus arts (well, for the last 15 years or so). I’m taking my younger nieces and nephews to this in a couple of weeks. https://www.los-angeles-theatre.com/theaters/pantages-theater/circus-1903-the-golden-age-of-circus.php The elephants are puppets.
I think the fact that Ringling continued to use elephants and other animals far beyond the time it was socially acceptable to the intended audience really hurt them.
^^^^Actually attendence at Ringling Brothers went down noticeably when elephants were no longer in the show.
I’m sad to hear it. My grandmother took all 11 of the grandchildren to Ringling Brothers and H and I took outr kids to both the Big Apple and Ringling Brothers circus as well as a smaller one that came to our suburb. The end of an era.
I used to purchase discounted company tickets for great seats to their shows. Before the show would start they would allow families to go to the floor and meet some of the animals and entertainers. We used to go to the Disney on Ice shows too. Kids now are very dependent on technology for entertainment. (ipad or iPhone)
I don’t think I ever went to a circus show growing up. We went to sports events, theater things, museums, etc.
Hate circuses.
Interesting that attendance went down after the elephants were eliminated. I just assumed the opposite, because that’s why my friends and I avoided it when our kids were little.
@emilybee – Do you hate the modern incarnation of circuses like Cirque du Soleil, too?
All circuses.
Going to the circus is certainly not inconsistent with any of those things. I’d say the circus is a subset of “theater things.”
I was fortunate to get to see one of their circus when they swung thru MA. My son loved the elephants and spawned a new desire to learn more about them. I too am sad to see them shut down. My grand kids will never be able to experience a circus.
I honestly prefer the old timey, traditional circuses to Cirque du Soleil which kind of bores me after awhile.
My kids are both terrified of clowns so no circus trips for our family.
My 93 year old mom talks wistfully of the days when the circus would come to her small Nebraska town. The best event of the year during her childhood.
If you are ever in the Sarasota FL area, go see the circus museum. The art museum on the property there is great, too!
https://www.ringling.org/circus-museum
I really, really like old circus images from the late 19th and early 20th century. I have a few tintypes of circus performers from that era.
Ñever went to a circus growing up. I don’t think they came near our area
Don’t like clowns, don’t like freak shows, don’t like performing animals. Traditional circuses seem sad and depressing. I do enjoy Cirque de Soleil.
I did see a Ringling Bros circus as a youngster. Eh.
I have never ever thought about the fact that my kids have never been to a circus.
It was not intentional at all. I wonder why?
Oh wait–they have but it was somehow a minor one not the Ringling Brothers.
I loved the circus growing up. The thought of flying through the air was awesome to me.
Yes, it was the Ringling Brothers.