Circus moves from Fairfield to Eldon

Fairfield was scheduled to welcome the Carson and Barnes Circus to town this weekend, but now Eldon will have that privilege.

Circus performers will entertain area residents with a show at 2 p.m. and again at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Wapello County Fairgrounds near Eldon. The show was originally to take place at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds that day, but the circus moved its shows to the Wapello County Fairgrounds.

Barbara Byrd, owner of the Carson and Barnes Circus, said she didn?t know why the venue was changed. Nevertheless, she said she hopes residents from Jefferson County will see what the traveling circus from Hugo, Okla., has to offer.

The circus features a number of high-flying daredevil performers such as trapeze artist Franchesca Cavallini. Cavallini is 17 years old and has been in the circus since she was 6 years old.

Byrd describes Cavallini as a ?beautiful young teenager.? The youngster hails from Peru where she and her family specialized in the flying trapeze. Her father is in her trapeze act and is responsible for catching her. Cavallini also sings, and will sing a song ?I Am The Circus? during the event.

Another teenager, 18-year-old July Coronal, amazes crowds with her Hula-Hoop routine. Byrd said she keeps numerous Hula-Hoops swinging around her body while she rolls on a giant globe. Coronal?s talents landed her time on this year?s AMC television program ?Showville,? which also featured performers from Fairfield.

A pair of Cuban brothers, Manuel and Enrique, perform handstands and contort their bodies into all manner of unusual positions.

?They?re excellent, and they?re new with us,? Byrd said.

Josie Loyal, an eighth-generation circus performer, leads a routine that employs dogs and Appaloosa horses.

?My favorite act is the elephants,? Byrd said. ?If you don?t have elephants, you don?t have a real circus. That?s why we bill ourselves as the ?real circus.??

On the morning of the show, elephant handlers water and feed the elephants. The public is allowed and even encouraged to watch the event, which occurs at about 8:30 a.m. or 9.

At 10 a.m. Sunday, children are invited to attend a free educational program about endangered Asian elephants and see the creatures up-close. Melvino the Clown also will entertain the children with a skit.

Where possible, the handlers also wash the elephants before the show with the help of a local fire department. The Carson and Barnes Circus could not arrange a shower for the elephants with local fire departments for Sunday?s show, however.

The Carson and Barnes Circus is in its 77th season of performances. The circus was founded in Kansas and later moved to Oklahoma because of its warmer climate, which was more comfortable for the animals.