The Greatest Show On Earth.

Deciding what to do with your kids over the twelve (long) weeks of summer breaks takes imagination and planning.  We try to do one adventure per week.  We've been to museums, the beach, a marine mammal care center, ice skating, bowling and the pool.  I was beginning to search for our last weeks adventure when I was offered the chance to review the circus. Perfect!  Now our last weeks activity is an extra exciting one!   The ten year old had only ever been to the zoo once and the five year old had never been.

I am the nostalgic type.  I wanted to see the thick rigging ropes of the big top.  The bright stripes of the canvas with the promise of magic within.  Sadly, those days are gone and the circus is within a large arena.  No matter - once you are inside the magic is still there.

We loved it.  The five year old is at the perfect age for wonder and amazement.  She tugged at my shirt every few minutes to make sure I had seen what she had seen.  The ten year old was just simply impressed.

For me, I am not sure they need the larger animals in the show.  It was incredible to be up close to seventeen tigers and seven elephants but it is so different from their natural habitat that I worried for them. My favorite parts of the show did not include any animals although the ferret surprise was a good one!

We were stunned by the acrobats.  The tumbling sequences were better than I have watched at the Olympics.  The ingenuity of some of the acts was jaw droppingly original and every performer was flawless. The clowns were funny and silly.  The dancers were enthusiastic. There were some old classics and lots of new ideas.  It really is a great show.  There are few things that the kids love that I love and this was definitely one of them.  It was simply great family entertainment, with no media tie-ins.

If Ringling Bros, Barnum and Bailey roll through your town go see them!

Our attendance at the circus was sponsored.  My opinions are honest!