For the past few years, Novato Sunrise Rotary has brought the American Crown Circus/Circo Osorio to St. Vincent's in Marinwood for a series of performances over Memorial Day Weekend. This year we made it a point to go, since we always seem to have missed it in years past. So, not sure exactly what to expect, we rolled up to the big top on Friday night.
Standing in a freshly mowed hay field, the blue-and-yellow striped big top is actually quite a sight to behold. If you have advance tickets you can walk right in, otherwise pay at the ticket window in the circus truck parked near the tent. Inside the tent is a single circus ring surrounded by grandstands and a small concession stand selling popcorn, cotton candy, hot dogs, sodas, and other treats. We took our seats and waited for the show to begin.
"How many of you have ever been to a circus?" asks Regina the Ringmaster (Felicity Hesed) asks at the start of Bay Area Children's Theatre world premiere production of Circus Adventure, at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage weekends through August 21. If your answer is "no", you're in for a hliarous and exciting introduction to the arts of the circus. If it's "yes", you're still in for a great time at this enjoyable production for the whole family.
In Circus Adventure, KaiKu the Clown (Calvin Kai Ku) finds himself shot halfway around the world from a circus cannon, far away from his home and friends at Circus Familia. In his effort to get back home, he encounters numerous fascinating and funny characters, who perform often amazing circus acts to help move along the story. There's plenty of audience participation, with cast members heading out into the aisles to interact with everyone (this is helped by the Freight & Salvage's small and intimate setting).
The Greatest Show on Earth—The Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus—is coming to the San Francisco Bay Area this summer with its latest spectacular show, Fully Charged. We're giving away two family packs of four tickets each for the circus; read on to learn how to enter.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey has long set the world standard for circuses, astonishing and delighting children of all ages. Amazing acts in Fully Charged include dynamic animal trainer Tabayara working his magic with stallions, Asian elephants, and tigers; Russian strongman duo Dmitry and Ruslan, who lift half-ton telephone poles and twirl them above their heads while acrobats balance atop; the fearless Fernandez Brothers who perform daring feats of athleticism on the Twin Turbines of Steel; the Human Fuse, Brian Miser, who rockets through the air from his self-made human crossbow; and of course the world-famous Ringling Bros. Clown Alley.
Performances of Fully Charged take place in the Bay Area at
HP Pavilion, San Jose, August 17–21, 2011
Wednesday–Friday, August 17–19, 7:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday, August 20 and 21, 11 am, 3 pm, and 7 pm.
Cow Palace, Daly City, September 1–5, 2011
Thursday–Friday, September 1 and 2, 7:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday, September 3 and 4, 11 am, 3 pm, and 7 pm
Monday, September 5, 11:30 am
"How many of you have ever been to a circus?" asks Regina the Ringmaster (Felicity Hesed) asks at the start of Bay Area Children's Theatre world premiere production of Circus Adventure, at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage weekends through August 21. If your answer is "no", you're in for a hliarous and exciting introduction to the arts of the circus. If it's "yes", you're still in for a great time at this enjoyable production for the whole family.
The Greatest Show on Earth—The Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus—is coming to the San Francisco Bay Area this summer with its latest spectacular show, Fully Charged. We're giving away two family packs of four tickets each for the circus; read on to learn how to enter.
