Clowning Around

We went to Circus Sarasota yesterday. Sarasota is rich with circus history as it was the winter headquarters for Ringling brothers for many years. Lots of Ringling this, Ringling that around town. The local high school even has circus as part of its curriculum. (To be clear, there are not a bunch of carnies running around town. That I've seen anyway.)

Circus Sarasota is an not-for-profit organization that seeks to preserve some of the city's circus legacy through an annual performance and education and outreach throughout the year. Fortunately, it's not the we-poke-animals-with-sharp-sticks circus, but rather showcases really incredible human tricks. This year's featured performer is well-known (by some) clown Bello Nock who is from an old Sarasota circus family. He has been out with the big circus for a while, but is back in Sarasota for this year's show.

We had ringside seats...front-row view of all the action. Gavin was so good throughout the performance. It held his attention for the most part, and he sat quietly on my lap. Claire was spell-bound. She ooh'ed and aah'ed, screamed and laughed. When Bello fell from the trapeze and appeared to be landing right on top of us, my protective mothering instincts took over and I covered Gavin's eyes. Because that would protect him from being squashed by a clown, right? Weird.

In the intermission, Claire got her face painted. She has always said no to getting her face painted, so this was a first. There were so many options to choose from, including lots of cats/other animals. Nope. Claire chose the one called "Showgirl". Considering she spends most of her day pretending she is a cat, or sometimes a puppy, I was really pushing for an animal but "Showgirl" it was. It turned out really well, although at a certain angle, she looked a bit like Spock. Several grandparentish folks gathered around as she was getting it done and I got compliments on how lovely she is. And here I thought I was biased...I guess not. :)

It was a wonderful afternoon and just a great performance. Nice to know that the proceeds go back into the community, so not only did we enjoy ourselves, but we are also total do-gooders.