My sister and I talked about the circus this morning, and her clearest memory was of swinging around one of those circus lights and smacking herself in the head with it.
Perhaps that’s why they had disappeared by the time I took my own kids to the Ringling Brothers circus 30 years later. Too many kids may have smacked themselves or others in the head with those lights.
We took the kids to RB B&B circus when they were 6-7ish. I was surprised that they had no idea what to expect. As we walked by the protesters holding signs about elephant cruelty D2 looked at me in awe and said, “There are elephants in the circus?” She was so excited! I don’t think that was the reaction the protesters were looking for.
We took our kids to Ringling once each. Both also went to the Big Apple Circus…which was fun.
But times change. I know folks advocated for the removal of the elephants…and that happened…but I was always bothered by the whipping of the lions and tigers. The circus life was not good for the animals.
I hope the circus performers can make their way doing something else. Some of these folks have been with the circus for generations.
I worked in the circus once. My friend and I were hitchhiking in Cape Cod. Who stops for us but a van filled with circus workers and performers. They stopped to pick us up because they needed help to setup their circus in the next town. So we spent all day with them setting up tents and rides and the stands. Had fun and I think we got paid decently.
Too bad they didn’t need any clowns or lion tamers.
When I was a kid, my parents had a friend who would get tickets for us to see the circus at MSG. My most vivid memory is that there was someone following the horses and the elephants around with giant pooper scoopers and, boy, did it smell BAD down in front. We were very poor growing up and didn’t get taken many places. Those trips to the circus really stick in my mind because it meant that somebody cared enough about me to give me an experience.
When I took my own kids, we sat higher up.
The last time we went to Ringling was in 2000. My then 3 year old wandered away from H at the Nassau Coliseum and was found at the Marriott Hotel across the parking lot. Ironically, the final performance is at the same venue. I asked that son if he wanted to go and he asked if he would have to wander across the parking lot again. Techson17, who was 1 the last time we went, wants to go as does oldest boy. D is a vegan-lite (where did I go wrong, lol!) and I am debating whether to invite her. I definitely plan to go. I am going to get tickets as soon as I can.
On a slightly off topic, I remember riding the elephant and the camel at the Bronx Zoo as a child. I also loved the killer whale shows at Sea World and regret that I didn’t get back one last time before Tillicum died.
Sad I wonder what everyone displaced in favor of the animals will do for a living?
Yes! Yes! - those shiny lights at the circus. That was the only souvenir dad would buy us at the circus and I remember twirling in madly in the dark from its red plastic lanyard. I have fond memories of going to the RB/BB circus in Madison Square Garden. We’d get all dressed up and we’d stop at dad’s office nearby. If we were well-behaved, he let us play with the typewriter and adding machine. I have such fun memories of those circus trips. It was a huge treat.
@Onward - yup, there is a world famous Cat Circus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LcMz614d18
There are though some claims on the internet that the cats are seriously abused… not the ones that make it into the star team, but the ones that don’t make the cut. 
We took our girls to the Big Apple Circus every year for many years. I’m far more upset about their liquidation than the end of the Ringling
We took our kids once or twice to the circus, if I recall. We also took them to many, many zoos and aquariums around the US. They really liked the exhibits that looked like national parks and we all hated the concrete enclosures. D even rode an elephant at the New Orleans zoo.
@momofthreeboys:
I feel sorry for those losing their jobs but it wasn’t the animals versus the employees, the real issue is that RB/BB circus management failed to see times were changing and how to keep the circus attractive. I doubt it was animal cruelty alone that killed them off, I think it was the show was increasingly expensive to put on, they had huge overhead, and as a result the circus became just another extremely expensive ‘family entertainment’; added to that I am sure to some or many people that having elephants and tigers at a circus, especially given the videos of the way they are treated, it was akin to those nations stupidly arguing for the right to kill whales. Basically those people lost their jobs because the people running the show were putting out a tired product that simply was too expensive to bother going to shrug.
@doschicos - The Ringling Museum’s Museum of Art also has some incredible paintings, sculptures and decorative art, including a rather impressive collection of Renaissance and Baroque paintings, Asian art, Cypriot art, and a growing collection of 20th century modern and contemporary art.
I was looking forward to visiting it as part of our college touring - D17 had been accepted to the New College of Florida (her safety), located in Sarasota adjoining the museum, but her matches and reaches are seeming more interesting to her at this point.
Yes, it does, @LoveTheBard. It’s a great place to visit and I recommend allowing enough time to visit both sides of the museum as well as dining there as well. The grounds are lovely as well. Beautiful place.
I’m sorry to see the circus go, too. My folks took us when I was growing up paid for us to take our kids. They loved it and sent a very elaborate thank-you note to their grandparents with animal drawings, etc. I think my mom still has it.
I think it’s too bad that it couldn’t evolve into something more contemporary, as opposed to just closing down. I’m not sure why they couldn’t have just made it more like Cirque du Soleil–fewer (or no) animals, but great human acts. They already had the human acts. Perhaps the ice shows and monster truck shows are just more lucrative.
But consider this: closing down the circus will put a lot of clowns out of work. Don’t be surprised if they are spotted lurking in the woods just outside of town.
@hunt:
We could consider that an oppportunity, if the population gets too high, create clown hunting license, generate needed revenue while maintaining the peace…(and folks, this is obviously meant to be sardonic)
Apparently this concept is taking off – not a traditional zoo but a wildlife “encounter”:
Those “safaris” have been around for a while. There is one in my state:
We also have a naive PNW animal zoo - Northwest Trek, a combo zoo/tram safari.
We had one like that in NJ, known as “Jungle Habitat” snort…though it is amusing to read all the tales in Weird NJ what happened to the place, from what I understand the animals that were there didn’t fare all that well and had some pretty sad ends…
