Austin’s infamous SXSW festival promises to delight audiences with an impressive lineup of circus-themed arts this spring and while I cannot yet reveal any official shows, I can give you a sneak preview on a nationally touring artist who is headed to Austin in March to team up with local sideshow groups for SXSW showcases. [...]
An Emmy-award winning production company has decided to take on an interesting series focusing on sideshow characters with unique living requirements who are interested in finding a house to accommodate their lifestyle. While I’m not at liberty to publicly post much more information than that, below is a blurb from the producers of the show. [...]
If you’re a regular reader of HeyRube, you’re already aware of my penchant for carnie slang. You can imagine my delight when I stumbled across “Carnie Talk” by John Thurston online, a condensed excerpt distilling such vernacular into a short narrative. Today, I’d like to feature this writing. Enjoy! When the carnival was in town [...]
This Saturday, February 25th, marks the 4th Annual International Sword Swallower’s Day, a celebrated tradition first established by the Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI). According to SSAI executive director Dan Meyer, “We established World Sword Swallower’s Day to raise awareness of the medical contributions sword swallowers have made to the fields of medicine and science, [...]
During the heyday of the Ringling Circus (roughly 1919-1938), 13,000 workers and performers accommodated over 13,000 guests and 800 animals on 20 acre lots. The circus rarely stayed in a town for more than a day, and they would cover 15,000 miles and 150 towns per season (Tibbals Learning Center). The logistical complexity of such [...]
This lovely little cinematic gem is Hellblinki‘s latest music video for the song Breaking Everything off their newest release These Bubbles Come from Ants; it was the last song written for the album and today, troupe front man Andrew answers a few questions about the making of this video: Q: Who shot and edited this [...]
Calling all coulrophobes: Today’s post is a purely gratuitous look at animatronic clowns. I’ve scoured the internet for videos featuring said props, and these are listed below for your viewing pleasure. How, you may ask, did I stumble onto this topic? Don’t ask such questions; just enjoy and if you’re so inclined, vote on your [...]
In November, HeyRubeCircus readers learned of unicyclist Kyle Peterson’s confrontation with NYC police. He was harassed and arrested for riding his single-wheeled vehicle home on an empty sidewalk at 3 am. (Click here to read the original post.) This week, the battle continues and Peterson has the following to report: “This February the 15th, I [...]
What better way to gear up for Valentine’s Day weekend than with a cast of bevies performing circus arts? Tomorrow night, Emo’s will host Cirque de Flirt, a sexy circus-centric party featuring an all female cast. There will be a variety of talents including dance, fire performance, comedy and burlesque. Featured acts of the evening [...]
America’s last tented, traveling ten-in-one sideshow is gearing up for a 12-day-stint at the annual Florida State Fair. Beginning February 10, the World of Wonders will return to the 319-acre lot in Tampa for approximately the 12th time. Today, sideshow veteran Red Stuart takes a moment to enlighten HeyRubeCircus readers about the inner workings of [...]