Released in 1983, this book details every person and performer involved with each year of the Peru Circus City Festival Shows. There are numerous old newspaper articles included in the book. This is available at the Circus City festival Gift shop. Go to this link for the address and phone numbers. http://www.perucircus.com/peru_circus_museum.aspFriday, July 31, 2009
Old Book - Great Info
Released in 1983, this book details every person and performer involved with each year of the Peru Circus City Festival Shows. There are numerous old newspaper articles included in the book. This is available at the Circus City festival Gift shop. Go to this link for the address and phone numbers. http://www.perucircus.com/peru_circus_museum.asp
New Book
Here is another new Circus book out this year. It is AMAZING! the photos are mostly never seen before and are all in the Miami County Historical Society collection. I got my copy at the Peru Circus Festival giftshop. The giftshop isn't on line but this is the link with the address and phone numbers. http://www.perucircus.com/peru_circus_museum.asp1001 and running
Well, here we go! the beginning of the next 1000 posts. I've been a member of the Circus Historical Society for some time and I currently serve as the Secretary of the Organization. I've been asked several times about the back issues of Bandwagon so here is the list of available back issues and the address to get them from.
I just started a Facebook group for the Circus Historical Society this week. It has started to grow already and should be a lot of fun. You can find it at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108709063580
Perhaps there is a viewer that doesn't know about the Circus Historical Society. They can go to our website at http://www.circushistory.org/ Here we have a question and answer board, routes, biographies etc. and you can also join utilizing Paypal as well. I've had a great time in the CHS. I hope you have too or will by joining us!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
More CMB Convention
I just thought I would use this photo today to celebrate the introduction of the 1000th post on this blog. This steam Calliope started out as a tableau, then grew to a full size wagon, then evolved into a Calliope and now a legend. That's pretty much what this blog has done also. My blog started out small, got bigger over the years, has been full of hot air for a while now, and the masses won't soon forget it. WhoooHoooo!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Nik Wallenda
Wallenda takes sky walk on Cedar Point's Sky Ride
By SHAWN FOUCHER Tuesday, July 28, 2009 2:15 AM EDT
SANDUSKY
( OHIO )
By SHAWN FOUCHER Tuesday, July 28, 2009 2:15 AM EDT
SANDUSKY
( OHIO ) Somewhere around 30 steps into this whole spectacle, there is the unmistakable sound of a few thousand people simultaneously letting out a quick gasp.
"This guy is insane," says Jerry Wright, 41, of Norwalk. "Oh, he is definitely crazy."
It's minutes past 5 p.m. on Sunday. Wright and thousands of other thrill-seekers are packed hip-to-hip along the boardwalk inside Cedar Point, where every face is turned upward, staring at the man who's tiptoeing along the cables of the amusement park's nine-story cable car ride, the Sky Ride.
"He's still got a long way to walk," Wright says. "He's got to be doing some serious concentrating up there."
Thousands of eyes are locked onto the man as his feet wobble, for a brief second. The wind isn't terribly strong, but at 25 mph the breeze is steady and solid and the gondola cables are bobbing a bit.
The guy on the wire pauses and appears to mutter something under his breath, something only the seagulls could hear at that height.
A second later, the man settles his feet and continues walking. For the rest of the 400 or so steps, he doesn't falter. He pauses only a few times to bow on a knee and steady himself, and once to wipe some sweat from his brow.
He ends the journey by lying backwards on the wire and pumping his fists in the air triumphantly. As a finishing touch, he gets up and does a little Fred Astaire-like dance before he hops off the wire and into the hydraulic lift that's waiting for him at the other end of the cable.
It's an impossible and amazing display of dexterity and fearlessness.
"I think he's crazy, he's insane," says Jackie Findish, of Amherst. "But he's awesome. Awesome."
This is the life of Nik Wallenda.
Thousands of Cedar Point visitors witnessed a dazzling display Sunday when Wallenda, 30, a world record-holding highwire artist from Florida, traipsed across a section of wires at the gondola's highest point. The breath-taking performance kicked off promptly at 5 p.m. as Wallenda was taken to the gondola wire by a hydraulic lift. He hopped effortlessly into position and toed his way across more than 300 feet of wire nine stories up, accompanied only by a curious seagull that flew within a few dozen feet of him.
Wallenda later admitted the winds were a little stronger than he'd wanted, and it caused his heart-stopping wobble about 30 steps into his 13-minute act.
"I definitely felt the wind," Wallenda said nonchalantly as he signed autographs after his performance. "They were gusts up to 25 mile per hour."
Robin Innes, Cedar Point's marketing director, said it was Wallenda's sixth appearance at a Cedar Fair park this summer, all part of a promotion the company has been offering to draw crowds. By all accounts, it did exactly that on Sunday.
"I'm scared just to get up on an extension ladder," said Roger Dearsman, of Green Springs, who watched Wallenda's act. "You wouldn't catch me up there, no way."
Dearsman's wife, Evelyn, said she looked away every time Wallenda paused.
"I can't watch it," she said. "I have to turn away."
There were no gimmicks like harnesses or safety nets to stay the concerns of the crowd, either. Wallenda walked across the entire section of wiring using only a balancing pole to steady himself.
The only assistance Wallenda received came from 20 Cedar Point workers on the ground, who were each harnessed to 20 cables attached to the gondola wire at 10-foot intervals. Every time Wallenda got to a 10-foot section, the workers pulled taut their own wires to help stable the gondola wire.
Save for the annoying wind, Wallenda said the biggest challenge came in walking on the thick gondola wire, which wasn't something he was used to. He said he typically uses his own cables -- thinner cables -- for his acts.
Wallenda has been a lifelong highwire artist, and comes from a family of level-headed types just like himself. The Flying Wallendas have seven generations of performers who are internationally known for their high-altitude feats.
The family's history is proof positive there's no backup plan or secret safety mechanisms to catch the performers if they make a mistake. Karl Wallenda, Nik's great-grandfather, died in 1978 in Puerto Rico when he fell to his death from a highwire. Bad rigging was blamed for the death, according to Wallenda's Web site.
Sunday's show at Cedar Point paled in comparison to Nik Wallenda's accomplishment last October in New Jersey, where he set the world record for the longest distance and greatest height ever traveled by bicycle on a high wire. He rode a bicycle on a wire that was attached to Newark's Prudential building, 20 stories high.
"This guy is insane," says Jerry Wright, 41, of Norwalk. "Oh, he is definitely crazy."
It's minutes past 5 p.m. on Sunday. Wright and thousands of other thrill-seekers are packed hip-to-hip along the boardwalk inside Cedar Point, where every face is turned upward, staring at the man who's tiptoeing along the cables of the amusement park's nine-story cable car ride, the Sky Ride.
"He's still got a long way to walk," Wright says. "He's got to be doing some serious concentrating up there."
Thousands of eyes are locked onto the man as his feet wobble, for a brief second. The wind isn't terribly strong, but at 25 mph the breeze is steady and solid and the gondola cables are bobbing a bit.
The guy on the wire pauses and appears to mutter something under his breath, something only the seagulls could hear at that height.
A second later, the man settles his feet and continues walking. For the rest of the 400 or so steps, he doesn't falter. He pauses only a few times to bow on a knee and steady himself, and once to wipe some sweat from his brow.
He ends the journey by lying backwards on the wire and pumping his fists in the air triumphantly. As a finishing touch, he gets up and does a little Fred Astaire-like dance before he hops off the wire and into the hydraulic lift that's waiting for him at the other end of the cable.
It's an impossible and amazing display of dexterity and fearlessness.
"I think he's crazy, he's insane," says Jackie Findish, of Amherst. "But he's awesome. Awesome."
This is the life of Nik Wallenda.
Thousands of Cedar Point visitors witnessed a dazzling display Sunday when Wallenda, 30, a world record-holding highwire artist from Florida, traipsed across a section of wires at the gondola's highest point. The breath-taking performance kicked off promptly at 5 p.m. as Wallenda was taken to the gondola wire by a hydraulic lift. He hopped effortlessly into position and toed his way across more than 300 feet of wire nine stories up, accompanied only by a curious seagull that flew within a few dozen feet of him.
Wallenda later admitted the winds were a little stronger than he'd wanted, and it caused his heart-stopping wobble about 30 steps into his 13-minute act.
"I definitely felt the wind," Wallenda said nonchalantly as he signed autographs after his performance. "They were gusts up to 25 mile per hour."
Robin Innes, Cedar Point's marketing director, said it was Wallenda's sixth appearance at a Cedar Fair park this summer, all part of a promotion the company has been offering to draw crowds. By all accounts, it did exactly that on Sunday.
"I'm scared just to get up on an extension ladder," said Roger Dearsman, of Green Springs, who watched Wallenda's act. "You wouldn't catch me up there, no way."
Dearsman's wife, Evelyn, said she looked away every time Wallenda paused.
"I can't watch it," she said. "I have to turn away."
There were no gimmicks like harnesses or safety nets to stay the concerns of the crowd, either. Wallenda walked across the entire section of wiring using only a balancing pole to steady himself.
The only assistance Wallenda received came from 20 Cedar Point workers on the ground, who were each harnessed to 20 cables attached to the gondola wire at 10-foot intervals. Every time Wallenda got to a 10-foot section, the workers pulled taut their own wires to help stable the gondola wire.
Save for the annoying wind, Wallenda said the biggest challenge came in walking on the thick gondola wire, which wasn't something he was used to. He said he typically uses his own cables -- thinner cables -- for his acts.
Wallenda has been a lifelong highwire artist, and comes from a family of level-headed types just like himself. The Flying Wallendas have seven generations of performers who are internationally known for their high-altitude feats.
The family's history is proof positive there's no backup plan or secret safety mechanisms to catch the performers if they make a mistake. Karl Wallenda, Nik's great-grandfather, died in 1978 in Puerto Rico when he fell to his death from a highwire. Bad rigging was blamed for the death, according to Wallenda's Web site.
Sunday's show at Cedar Point paled in comparison to Nik Wallenda's accomplishment last October in New Jersey, where he set the world record for the longest distance and greatest height ever traveled by bicycle on a high wire. He rode a bicycle on a wire that was attached to Newark's Prudential building, 20 stories high.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Dennis "Dion" Younger's new Book
For those that have been asking, Dennis Younger's new book is available through him and is also for sale at the Circus World Museum Giftshop. You can visit his website to learn more about the book at freewebs.com/circusdays2005 where you can get his mailing address or just email him at circusdays@gmail.com
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Mt. Hope Cemetary in Peru, IN.
While in Peru, we went to Mt. Hope cemetary to find some of the circus greats. Here are a few we found. This first one is so well polished that we got reflections from both sides. As a result, the legs are not part of the headstone.
Friday, July 24, 2009
More CMB Convention
Model Builder Steve Flint and his wife Dawnne with their 1/2" scale Sparks Circus
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Circus Model Builders National Gathering - 2009
I had a great time in Peru yesterday with great friends, great food, and naturally great circus. Plenty more photos to come while I'm still here in Ohio.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Jungle Larry's
Many moons ago, I had the incredible pleasure to work for Jungle Larry's African Safari. I re-painted many of the signs over the years for them and was asked if I would paint a center piece for the one building. I did! This is over 8 feet long, is cut out of a signboard with the paper coating and then I painted this in artists oil paints. We also mde a flaming hoop for the tiger to jump through. When Jungle Larry's decided not to return to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio anymore, Nancy Jane was kind enough to give this back to my parents.Friday, July 17, 2009
Clyde Beatty Circus
Hurry, Hurry, Hurry to see the greatest wild animal trainer of all times ( back then )
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