Most folks are familiar with Coney Island USA, the not-for-profit organization that sponsors a great deal of the cultural activities coming out of Coney, such as the Mermaid Parade, the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, the Coney Island Museum, Burlesque at the Beach, and the list goes on. There is an important conterpart to this group, [...]
On October 2, Toronto will host the 5th annual Nuit Blanche Festival. This 12-hour, all-night event will include 120 performers specializing in various arts including burlesque, comedy, magic, sideshow, dance, variety, circus acts and music. In fact, this year organizers are hoping to break a world record for the longest and largest burlesque show. Since [...]
As with so many tales in the sideshow business, distinguishing fact from fiction can be very challenging. This is especially true with Poobah, the fire-eating dwarf. He rose to fame as one of Ward Hall’s feature performers, and Ward’s presence may be why pinning down the facts on Poobah can be so difficult to do. [...]
Usually, I try to include some commentary on my post materials, but the following excerpt truly speaks for itself. Enjoy: “During the performance of a stage illusion show, a magician requested the help of a volunteer from the audience. An unassuming fellow stood up and climbed onstage. The man was placed in a wooden box [...]
Circus of Circus will debut this October in NYC’s House of Yes. This production, however, is not your average circus. It is a reimagining of George Orwell’s 1946 classic literary satire of the Russian Revolution, “Animal Farm.” In this fantastical society, the circus performers (who are all based on characters from the novel) rebel against [...]
Carnival Story is a 1954 movie directed by Kurt Neumann. In this film, the first American carnival tours Germany (before learning a word of German, I might add. God bless good-old fashioned 1950s ethnocentrism). Down on their luck, the troupe was experiencing financial difficulties selling to American audiences, who had all seen it before, so [...]
Richard Lorenc was living a pretty normal life. The 33-year-old resided in Kansas with his wife and two daughters. However, when a back injury led him into the examining room, the orphan couldn’t answer any questions about his family medical history and he decided to start searching. After a series of coincidental events, Lorenc revealed [...]
The Halloween season is almost upon us, and that means crafters everywhere are excitedly churning out tutorials on how to make various spooky curio. I decided to hunt down some how-to articles on making pickled punks and here is one of the better ones I found: This tutorial covers not one pickled punk, but seven! [...]
On my latest trip to Baraboo, Wisconsin, I stopped in a great used bookstore called The Village Booksmith and Coffeehouse. It’s one of those enchanting hole in the walls, filled floor to ceiling with antique books, and mildly reminiscent of a scene from Harry Potter. Being in Baraboo, they had an entire circus section in [...]
Despite the big budget (around the tune of $30 million), intense post-production and all-star Hollywood cast, I think most sideshow lovers will still find this movie enjoyable. Director and co-writer Terry Gilliam takes audiences on a journey with a sideshow troupe who attempt to bedazzle contemporary audiences with old world mysticism. The film is oozing [...]