News

January 19, 2017 from Gary Payne, CFA President The announcement of the forthcoming closing of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has caught the imagination of the media and produced ironically some positive results for the CFA and Circus Fans and friends everywhere. We’re seeing quite a bounce in membership inquiries and media requests for […]

Feld Entertainment has announced that it will close Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey in May. https://www.ringling.com/ http://www.wsj.com/articles/ringling-bros-shutdown-the-end-of-the-circus-industry-1484530116

The assets of Big Apple Circus will be auctioned off in a bankruptcy sale in February. http://www.playbill.com/article/big-apple-circus-is-selling-its-assets

The Circus Ring of Fame in Sarasota, Florida inducts six new circus greats. http://www.yourobserver.com/article/circus-ring-of-fame-to-gain-6-greats

Circus World Museum, the Ringling Circus Museum and the Milner Library at ILSU have received a grant to digitize circus route books. https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2017/01/milner-receives-268000-grant-save-circus-history/

The annual charity circus in Gibsonton, Florida contains all of the elements of traditional circus under the big top http://www.observernews.net/2016/12/28/the-circus-is-coming-2/

Cirque du Soleil unveiled a virtual reality look behind the scenes for delegates at the recent CES meeting in Las Vegas. http://www.nasdaq.com/article/cirque-du-soleil-gets-new-virtual-reality-experience-dreams-of-o-cm729980

Emily McCarthy joined Cirque du Soleil at the age of 16 and continues to perform with the company. Follow this link for her thoughts on the life of a professional circus artist. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/run-away-cirque-du-soleil-071000172.html

Circus 1903, a stage show designed to replicate a classic circus, has drawn rave reviews in Australia. The show will begin a US tour in February. http://www.venuestoday.com/news/detail/throwback-circus-1903-plays-2017

The Zoppe Family Italian Circus continues a century old tradition, presenting classic circus under its big top. http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/events/2016/12/29/zoppe-italian-family-circus-chandler-shows-2016/95733152/