The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Circus performs one last time
An elephant, a zebra, a llama named Tony Llama, and a camel along with clowns, jugglers, acrobats and a trapeze artist were some of the many sights enjoyed by residents who came to view the Kelly Miller Circus in Willowick on July 25.
It was a daylong event starting out with the community being invited to watch the animals being unloaded and fed, have a short question-and-answer session with ringmaster Rebecca Ostroff and see the raising of the big top in the morning. Pony and camel rides also were available. Later in the day, concessions and souvenirs became available to purchase.
The circus put on two shows, one in the late afternoon and again in the early evening.
Some of the shows’ highlights were Mendbayar & Chandmanizaya, aerialists from Mongolia; trapeze artist Kimberly Souren; Lamount, a fire manipulator known as the Human Volcano; five-time gold medal juggler Nicolas Souren; and Wrinkle, the dancing elephant
This was, after 13 years of coming to Willowick, the final performance for the circus in the city.
“The Kelly Miller Circus has had a long run here in Willowick,” said Mayor Rich Regovich. “We have had declining ticket sales for the last several years, with this year projected to be the lowest.”
At one time, Willowick used to be able to put on two shows a day for two days, but tickets sales have declined to where two shows on one day aren’t selling out, Regovich said.
“It takes a lot for the city to host the circus and currently we are at our lowest staffing levels in our Service Department,” he said. “With all of these factors, along with animal welfare people, and the climate regarding circus animals in today’s world, we have decided to make this year be our last to host the circus.”
There are mixed emotions about the circus ending. Some feel it has run its course and it’s time for newer events geared to families, while others say they will miss it, Regovich said.
“It’s a little sad,” said Judann Horn of Eastlake. “We usually come every year, so we were like, we can’t miss it this year since it’s the last one.”
A group of about 15 protesters stood at the park entrance as people entered to attend the show.
“The more we can educate people to reality of what the animals go through during the training, during the show and during the transportation, perhaps we can open a few eyes to the reality,” said protester Cindy Deighter.
Regovich said Willowick is looking forward to adding other family oriented events to its parks and summer programming.
“We already have several great ideas and are forming a committee to explore which best suits our city,” he said. “There have been many memories made in the past 13 years and we hope to make new memories in the future.”