Ringling Brothers Circus
Zing Zang Zoom

Well, we did not receive free celebrity circus tickets or backstage passes of any sort, but we still had a great time, and I thought it only fair to share with you why you should visit the circus.

I am well aware of the PETA controversy surrounding the use of animals in the performances, and possible cruelty.  I would have to say that I disagree with these reports. I decided to dig a little deeper into these allegations. I have read and watched what PETA had to offer as well as the rebuttal by Ringling Brothers, and I have personally concluded that PETA is NUTS! Nuts and desperate. While I agree with their cause, I believe that they are going about it the wrong way and creating controversy where is none. I honestly believe if the Ringling Brothers circus was guilty, then the organization would have been shut down.

I think it is just sick that PETA would bring pamphlets to elementary schools with graphic images of bleeding and injured elephants making accusations that this is what the circus is really about. How impressionable are young children? And yes, this is what PETA did to local Cleveland schools.

Ringling Brother’s representatives were upfront with their animal care, providing pamphlets and information about the care of the animals. They provided me with the website for their elephant conservation , which began in 1995 as a way to help preserve the Asian elephant population  I was excited to learn that all people would be given a chance to see their beautiful animals outside the show in a parade through the city!

On to the Circus

We attended the Saturday, October 24th show at 3:30 PM. We arrived nearly an hour before hand. The arena was PACKED. We had been to the circus a few years back and I certainly do not remember it being that crowded. I could hardly see anything on the arena floor.

We of course splurged on the $10 cotton candy. In all fairness, it was a large bag that 3 people shared, and also contained a super cute hat that Miss Serenity loved! We did get to watch the elephants paint. We learned that Asian elephants are different from African elephants in that their ears are much smaller. Fun Fact! It was also fun to learn that the elephants enjoy loaves of bread as their treats!

After the preshow, I tried to get Serenity’s photo in from of the circus banner, but she thought it was over and was pretty upset, so she refused to smile.

The show was amazing! I love how they put a storyline into their routine. Zing Zang Zoom featured a villain known as Mr. Gravity, and he liked to bring people down. Haha. It was cute. I was loving the little dogs. We say the human cannon, tight rope walkers and of course the beautiful elephant routine.  Serenity was most in favor of the tigers.. and loved the clowns. She laughed nearly the whole time.

We will certainly be returning next year and plan to Caeden as well. Enjoy some photos!