I only remember going to one circus as a kid. It was in one of those multi-purpose arenas that played host to everything from rodeos, to monster truck rallies, to hair band concerts. You know the place. We sat wayyyy up in the nosebleeds, so high up even the elephants looked like little toys. You could hear everything just fine, but you couldn’t see much, so the entire experience was underwhelming, to say the least.
Early this year we took the family to one of Ringling’s smaller shows, the Gold Tour, in our town’s local convention center. Same size arena sort of facility, but the marketing geniuses at Ringling only sell so much of that space in order to keep the whole experience more, um, intimate. (Sorry, there just wasn’t a better word.) And boy did they ever succeed, even in the less-expensive seating. The kids had no problem seeing every part of the show, and we were all just entranced. It was what you imagine a circus should be…colorful, amazing, funny and entertaining.
When I was most conveniently spammed emailed notification of the new show coming to town this January, of course I jumped, but this time purchased tickets down in the so-called “VIP Section.” These seats are banks of chairs set up within mere feet of the edge of the ring, all the action is right there in your lap. I wasn’t fast enough for the front row, but Row #2 was duly scored, and guaranteed to make the kids (and me, of course) wet their pants with glee.
Today, I’m yoinking around on the Ringling site, checking out the details for the new show, and see that white Bengal tigers are included in this year’s show…
Tigers.
And we’re on the SECOND ROW.
Anybody wanna buy some circus tickets?