By Thia James

An original big top circus stops in PA

Jul 6, 2014 | 8:53 AM

A small family-owned circus is visiting Prince Albert this weekend, as it hits all of Canada’s provinces.

The Family Fun Circus is a one-ring circus, and has set up its big top tent at the Prince Albert Exhibition Grounds. The circus tours smaller communities in Canada and the United States that may not ordinarily play host to a live entertainment show.

Ringmaster Brian LaPalme said that in a big city, there is often a lot of competition for people’s entertainment dollars.

“A small town, you know, you come in once a year and they’re all happy to see the circus,” he said.

He has toured with the circus for 38 years, and performing is something that’s in the family, so to speak. His father was a magician who appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s – a forerunner to the David Letterman Show. LaPalme said he always knew he wanted to be a magician.

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“I always liked the circus, so there you go,” he said. And he’s stayed with it, saying it’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle.

LaPalme said they work for 10 months out of the year – from the middle of January to the middle of November. The circus is a traditional tented show, and LaPalme said there are less than a dozen of such shows left in the United States, and none in Canada.

“To see a show like this under a tent is pretty cool,” he said.

The show features acrobats, clowns, fire eaters and a human cannonball. The human cannonball is shot from one end of the tent to the other, from a cannon into a net.
“Have you ever seen anything like that before? Probably not. So people get to see that right up close, not on TV.”

A lineup of parents and children waiting to see it all up close formed outside of the big top tent on Saturday evening. A soft breeze rolled by as Lori Ashdown stood with her family, which included her son and daughter. At nine and seven years of age, they have never watched a live circus.

Ashdown said her family came out to the circus for some family fun. “Get out of the house, it’s been a hot day,” she said with a laugh.

“This is a different experience for them, yes,” she said, and added she thinks they’re most looking forward to seeing the acrobats and animals.

And after 38 years, LaPalme still loves to see the smiling faces of children at the show.

“It’s exciting and at 57 years old, when most people retire at my age, I won’t retire. This is exciting, you know, you can be in different countries and play and perform and the audience is smiling and happy and what better a job is that?”

On Sunday, there will be two performances, one at 2 p.m. and one at 4:30 p.m. For more information, click here. 

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames