As part of their 76th consecutive year of touring the USA, Carson & Barnes Circus, the largest traveling big top tent circus in America will visit Kennett on Friday, September 14 at the former Emerson Electric plant. The Kennett Jaycees and Three Rivers College are sponsoring the circus to help raise money for the Jaycees's various community projects.
Show times are scheduled on Friday at 4:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. Advance tickets purchased at local ticket outlets offer the best value. You can buy tickets locally up to twenty four hours before the first show at First National Bank, Kennett National Bank, Senath State Bank, Unico Bank, and the Kennett Chamber of Commerce.
For the best value, fans should buy their advance tickets from local outlets: Adult's tickets will be $14, children's tickets will be $6; or at the gate on Circus Day, Adult's tickets will be $16, and children's tickets will be $8. Tickets can also be purchased online at the Circus website at www.BigTopShow.com. Tickets bought online incur a per-ticket charge of $1.50.
Circus fans can get discount coupons at area retailers or download a money-saving $4 off coupon from the Circus website at www.BigTopShow.com and apply that discount to the purchase of all adult tickets at the gate, from local outlets, or when buying online.
Carson & Barnes is "The Real Circus," with everything fans expect to see under the big top: Clowns, acrobats, aerial daredevils, spectacular pageantry, and a cast of amazing performing animals led by the biggest stars of the show, the Carson & Barnes Asian elephants. Starring in this season's show is "Alex the Clown." Like many of those appearing in the Circus, Alex Acero has spent his life performing. As a headliner in Las Vegas and with several of the largest Latin American circuses, Alex keeps the children laughing while keeping the adults on the edges of their seats with his daring gymnastics.
Carson & Barnes owner Barbara Miller-Byrd is the third generation of her family to run the circus. Her daughters, Traci and Kristen, who also travel with the show, will be the fourth generation to run the nation's largest touring tent circus. Even after more than 60 years on the road as a performer and owner, Barbara is still in awe at the thrill of it all and is still the number one fan of the traditional American circus.
"I remember getting on my first pony shortly after I started walking," she said. "Seriously, I never considered doing anything other than being a part of the family business, but in those early days no one imagined a woman would ever be the boss in a male-dominated business, like ours."
One of the most popular attractions at the Circus is before the show. The Circus travels with a menagerie of exotic animals including a rare Sicilian donkey, two llamas, a miniature zebra and a standard-sized zebra, an alpaca, two camels, a half-dozen pygmy goats, an Katy, the pygmy hippo. Kids delight in the chance to get up close and pet these unusual creatures. Small bags of dry food can be purchased and are guaranteed to get the furry friends' attention.
Also on the Circus midway the little children can ride a miniature train or saddle-up for a Shetland pony ride. For older kids there's the SuperSlide. Towering above all along the midway are those magnificent Asian elephants and the camels. Both can be ridden with the right ticket in hand.
With a cast of dozens and twenty-five vehicles loaded with everything from popcorn bags to grandstands, exotic animals, hundreds of costumes and tons of equipment for the performers, and even the big top tent itself, every day is an adventure.
For the nearly one million guests who will gather under the tent this year for the thrills and excitement that are the hallmark of the greatest of all family entertainment's, it all comes down to the center ring where the outside world yields to the fantasy world under the big top, an American icon.
Find a complete tour schedule, show information, and how to buy tickets, visit the circus website at www.bigtopshow.com