Sarasota Circus Festival and Parade

Sarasota Circus Festival and Parade

January

Colossal! Spectacular! The Sarasota Circus Festival and Parade is a non-stop circus early in the year in the capital of the circus world, Sarasota, Fla. The festival has included a parade in downtown Sarasota. Events include shows of magic, juggling, clowning, dog stunts, knife throwing, and various other acts all day long. In addition, there are outdoor "thrill shows"—performers on high sway poles, on high wires, and on motorcycles on high wires. And there are displays of miniature circuses, arts and crafts, and a circus art and photography show.
Sarasota was put on the circus map in 1927 when John Ringling, one of the founding Ringling brothers, decided to make Sarasota the winter headquarters for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. They moved in 1960 to nearby Venice, but Sarasota was by then established as a circus mecca, and many circus people now make their year-round homes there. Furthermore, the city is home to the Circus Hall of Fame and the Ringling Museum of the Circus. John Ringling's palatial home, Ca d'Zan, completed in 1925, can be seen there, along with the John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, which has a fine collection of the art work of Peter Paul Rubens.

CONTACTS:
Circus Sarasota
8251 15th St. E., Ste. B
Sarasota, FL 34243
941-355-9335; fax: 941-355-7978
www.circussarasota.org
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