We're Not Clowning Around

History

The circus has been around for 2,000 years and it is as good as new.

Early Roman circuses featured wild and exciting athletes who fought very hard for their freedom; animal duels, daring horse back riding and spectacular chariot races that provided entertainment for all of the Romans.

As the dark ages settled in Europe, circus was forgotten. Groups of touring performers presenting at at marketplaces trained animals, acrobatic achievements and riders kept the circus up and running.

A British Cavalryman named Sergent-Major Philip Astley ( a very honored and talented officer of the British Cavalry was struck with excitement of performed fancy riding. He roped off a certain spot in London to show his performance of fancy riding. He made the circus ring perfect so he can increase his ability to stand on the back of a running horse. Later, he was adding more and more to the circus ring and more acts, and he ended up making a complete circus.

Charles Hughes was a very talented circus trainer that was a competitor of Philip Astley. A student of Charles Hughes ( Bill Rickets ) made a well enhancement to other circus colonies. An English cousin of George Washington, Bill Rickets gave remarkable performances at a riding school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was accused of doing great feats of horsemanship. America’s first important circus man trveled from Albany, New York, to Baltimore, Maryland and continued to improve his acting stunts. His Ampitheatere was burned down to the ground making him want to quit and go back to England. But when he was sailing back, he was lost in a storm.

History of Circus in Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota is known as the "Circus Capital of the World." John Ringling brought the "Greatest Show On Earth" to Sarasota, and Sarasota has several other circuses and even the "Greatest 'Little' Show On Earth," the Sailor Circus (James Haley got permission to call it that from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1952). Sailor Circus is a "student" circus that was created at Sarasota High School. It's still around today.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus has its headquarters here, and there are lots of other circuses, including Circus Sarasota.

Pretty much everywhere you look in Sarasota you will find something about the circus. We even took a picture with a clown statue right in the middle of town when we visited Saint Armand's circle. The statues are all over Sarasota right now.

A lot of famous legacy circus stars also live in Sarasota. We were lucky to meet a couple of them -- Dolly Jacobs and Tim Hernandez.