News

The Venice Historical Society is restoring a circus coach from Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey’s train for eventual display in the city. http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/225789248-story

Vietnamese brothers Quoc Co and Quoc Nghiep, performing as the Giang Brothers, have set a new world record for ascension of steps while in head to head balancing. Watch the video from the cathedral of Girona in Spain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIImwU0oFmA

This article from the BBC examines the fact that clowning seems to be declining in popularity in the West but has boomed in the Far East. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38315308

The Milner Library at Illinois State University has acquired the Price collection of Clyde Beatty artifacts. https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2016/12/circus-collection-exhibit-now-open/

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey is replacing the ringmaster in its touring production Circus Xtreme with a female announcer. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/os-ringling-bros-barnum-bailey-first-female-ringmaster-20161213-story.html

The new issue of Spectacle is now up and running at www.spectaclemagazine.com It contains a review of the revised Paramour and New Vic’s Mother Africa. Barry Lubin and I had a long distance interview via email in which he talks about his career post Big Apple. Lots of news and a prediction for the future […]

On your next trip to Somers, New York, don’t miss the monument to Old Bet, America’s First Circus Elephant. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/memorial-to-americas-first-circus-elephant

Researchers in Oklahoma are studying the former winterquarters of Hagen Bros Circus in Edmund, Oklahoma. http://newsok.com/article/5529362

The latest issue of Forbes magazine contains a profile of circus owner Kenneth Feld. http://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/11/30/how-billionaire-kenneth-feld-keeps-ringling-bros-circus-alive/#3c5677dd79f0

A cemetery in North Dakota has a unique monument erected to honor circus workers killed there by lightning. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/tent-pole-monument-to-circus-dead