The husband spent last week selling Italian Ice at the Circus City Festival in Peru, Indiana (AKA “The Circus Capital of the World”). The food vendor coordinator saw that he had one of the boys with him, so he offered free tickets for our family to see the Peru Circus. Growing up in central Indiana, I’d heard of the Peru Circus, but had never been. We gladly accepted the tickets! The boys and I rushed up to Peru after work (about an hour’s drive from home) last Wednesday.
It was AMAZING!!!!! So amazing, I forgot to take pictures! It’s an amateur circus, totally performed by the youth of the City of Peru. The performers ranged in age from preschoolers on up to teenagers. There were tight rope acts, flying trapeze, juggling, unicycles, clowns, etc. There was constant action in all 3 rings during the entire 3 hour show! My two favorite parts were the 7 (all girl) pyramid crossing the tight rope, and the double somersault on the flying trapeze to close the show. The boys loved the juggling, especially when they brought out the flames and swords!
The festival closed on Saturday with a parade. The boys and I went to the parade, while good old Dad manned the Italian Ice carts! I loved seeing the old horse drawn circus wagons.
It was so ironic to see how many Amish participated in the parade. There is a large Amish population in northern Indiana, so I’m guessing a lot of the men bring their horses to pull the numerous wagons. It was very strange to see the plain Amish driving the ornate circus wagons!
The unicycles and jugglers were also in the parade. The boys liked them the most!
The most entertaining part of the parade was when the group of teenaged boy jugglers went by us… one of the boys accidentally dropped his juggling pin (is that what they’re called???!!!) in a huge pile of horse manure, picked it up, and started chasing the other guys with it! Of course that was my boys’ favorite part:)
Have you recently been able to check out a local event you’ve always been curious about? Did it live up to your expectations?
Hi SixSiglers, great post. I live in Berks County, PA, near Kutztown University, and this Saturady I will be going to the bandshell at Kutztown Park to see one of my favorite local follk rock bands, Frog Holler, play as a part of their free summer concert series. I love these outdoor summer nights filled with music! Almost every Friday, Saturday, or Sunday evening you can find a free concert in a neighboring town–I’ve found them in Reading, Fleetwood, and Kutztown so far. Kudos to the musicians and community organization that make them possible.
The Peru Circus sounds amazing. What a fun day you all day. We have some nice local events in the San Antonio area. Festival of Flowers where local nurseries and plant related businesses all get together for a show. We have an Herb Market coming up in Oct – on a herb-related level. Lots of fun. And a few others that are good.