Janice and I went to the Great Pages Circus this Wednesday. We bought tickets online and showed up at the Washtenaw County fairground, only to find no sign of a big top. Given the near-perfect flatness of the fairground, if there had been a circus tent there, we would have seen it. We parked and got out of the car, whereupon a man directed us to one of the exhibit barns. The Great Pages Circus might more accurately have been billed as Modestly Sized or Small, rather than Great.
When Daughter Number Four was little, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital used to bring a circus to town every summer. We’d go the day before to watch the elephants and roustabouts putting up the circus tent. It was fascinating. The elephants liked to be applauded for their work, and the human spectators enthralled by the animals’ strength and know-how were happy to oblige.
While the elephants were busy working, other acts were practicing. Particularly interesting was the man with the dog act. His dogs ran and jumped and moved balls around, and they were absolutely crazy in love with him, and he clearly loved them back. There was joy in their act.
Furthermore, there was a circus parade through downtown Ann Arbor. Spangled ladies rode caparisoned elephants. Other costumed performers strode along, breaking periodically to perform acrobatic feats. Clowns sent kids scattering, and someone played a calliope on a circus wagon. The circus of old was spectacular.
Wednesday’s circus was downsized. No parade. No big top. No sideshows. Lots of opportunities to spend money. Popcorn, pretzels, peanuts. Face painting. Balloons shaped like cartoon characters. Toys. Coloring books. Sometimes the circus took time out from acts just to offer items for sale. I understand that this circus isn’t underwritten by St. Joe’s. That they’re just trying to make ends meet. But it felt relentless.
Finally, a performer made an appearance, wearing a colossal Bumblebee Transformer costume and looking like an enormous robot. He made his ponderous way into the ring and, of course, said nothing, as Bumblebee doesn’t speak. Not a problem, as the Transformer was only there as a prop for photo opportunities, for a price, of course.
The clown was tolerable. That’s saying a lot for a clown. This one had a cheerful demeanor and just a touch of makeup. Children were willing to interact with him, bouncing a ball off their heads or trying to catch tossed pieces of popcorn. They actually found humor in the scenarios he set up in the ring.
Strong young men and women of great agility, flexibility, balance, and courage did acrobatic acts. One man balanced in a handstand on a platform perched oh-so-precariously on something that rolls, so high off the floor that his feet were actually in the rafters of the building. Indeed, as ours was the first of four shows to take place in this location, performers had a tendency to make sure there was clearance for their feats of derring-do.
There wasn’t room for a tightrope walker, but there was a slackliner. His final trick was to stand on his head on the bouncy, moving line, arms and legs stretched out to either side for balance. Women performers hung from ropes and rings and did everything beautifully.
There were no elephants in this circus, but there was a dog act. Probably the best trick in that was the standard poodle jumping over the little girl doing a rock-solid handstand with splits. The camel act consisted of two liberty dromedaries, who trotted around the ring in various formations, after which the show paused to offer camel rides for children—one time around the ring for seven dollars.
During the camel rides, one camel took a sudden interest in a preschooler in the bottom row of bleachers, and leaned its long neck over for a very-close-up look at her. She was startled, as were those of us sitting near her. She was a trooper, though, and stayed for the rest of the show.
Outside the exhibit barn and absolutely too big to fit through the doors was a sphere made of metal mesh. We all walked over to it to watch the motorcycle act, during which two motorcyclists ride up and down and around the sphere. This includes riding upside down, and some of the time included both riders at once and holding hands with the young woman standing inside with them as they rode. Both riders were women. They wore safety gear. The standing woman didn’t.
All in all, the circus was a pleasant time out from reality as we know it.
9 August 2024