Highlights Archives
Don't Miss The Great Circus Festival and Parade!
All the razzle-dazzle excitement and colorful pageantry associated with the American circus will sweep through downtown Milwaukee now through July 12 as The Great Circus Festival and Parade returns to the city for the first time since 2003. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, shown here speaking at a July 1 news conference, personally announced the kickoff of the event along with (from left to right) Tourism Secretary Kelli Trumble, Circus World Director Steve Freese, and longtime Milwaukee circus parade promoters Jack McKeithan and Bill Fox (not shown).
Five Days of Fun and Frolic!
The fun has already begun with The Great Circus Parade Festival in Veterans Park on Milwaukee's lakefront. The event leads up to the grand finale of the five-day-long event — The Great Circus Parade, which begins at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 12. The festival features daily live, tented circus performances by the Kelly Miller Circus, food, beverage and souvenir vendors, animal rides, authentic circus wagon displays and horses preparing for The Great Circus Parade. On Saturday, July 11, there will be practice runs with the teams of horses hitched to the actual wagons they will pull in the parade.
 The Great Circus Parade returns to Milwaukee on Sunday, July 12 On parade day, expect to see a prelude fanfare of high-wheel bikes, the Milwaukee Police Band, antique firefighting equipment, mounted police and sheriff posses, antique automobiles with political dignitaries, and the mayor of Milwaukee. After that the parade becomes entirely horse drawn with 50 authentic circus wagons, 350 exquisite horses, 30 musical bands and novelties, exotic animals, 150 clowns and more than 450 riding and walking performers dressed in lavish circus wardrobe. Parade organizers say it is one of the nation's largest this year and are expecting a half-million spectators.
Continuing a Historic Tradition
The Great Circus Parade continues a grand tradition in American circus history. Circus parades, as a moving advertisement for the upcoming circus shows, can trace their origins to 1797 in Philadelphia. Circuses began using tents for their performances in 1825, which required sturdy baggage wagons to carry the canvas and poles from town to town. Although not intended for display, these vehicles intrigued city residents, who gathered to watch workers unload the wagons and set up the tent. In 1846 Isaac Van Amburg paraded a wagon with wooden carvings, fabric, and paint ornamentation through New York City to promote his show. The following year there were two other circus operations with parade vehicles, and the "Grand Free Street Parade" became a traditional part of the American circus for the next 80 years.
Circuses began to transport equipment by railroad in 1872. Railroad shows could travel farther each night and set up in the most lucrative cities. Greater profits allowed circus owners to spend more for performers, animals and equipment. Parades increased in grandeur as well, featuring larger and more elaborate wagons adorned with mirrors, gold-leaf carvings and elaborate fabric banners. Each year competition between showmen increased, reaching its zenith in 1903 when Barnum & Bailey and the Ringling Bros. each made significant investments in new parade wagons and staged two of the grandest processions in American history.
As cities grew larger and circus lots moved farther from the business district, many circuses stopped staging street parades. By the late 1930s most parade wagons were in storage or circus proprietors had modified them to carry baggage or to serve other purposes. Scavengers stripped abandoned circus wagons of their carvings, or the wagons simply fell apart. During World War II salvagers burned many remaining wagons to salvage metal for the war effort. Today two-thirds of the circus wagons known to exist are now in the collections of Circus World, preserved for future generations to see.
Every Day is a Circus Day at Circus World
While The Great Circus Festival and Parade mark the high point of Circus World's season, don't forget that every day is a circus day at Circus World. Daily Hippodrome circus performances, circus animal acts, the popular KidsWorld Circus and Circus World's unparalleled exhibits of American circus history make a visit to Circus World before its 2009 performance season ends on August 30 something you and your family won't want to miss. The very ground on which Circus World stands is historic in its own right, something you can discover for yourself by paying a visit to Historic Ringlingville, site of the Ringling Bros. Circus winter quarters from 1897 to 1918.
For complete information on the daily performance schedule, hours, admissions, location and directions, and other details, visit Circus World's visitor information pages.
:: Posted July 9, 2009
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