Wallenda surrounded by the mist of Niagara Falls, midway through his journey
To date, I still haven’t been able to find a single soul that is unaware of the record-breaking high wire walk across Niagara Falls by Nik Wallenda two weeks ago. (Granted, I may hang around slightly biased circles, but still…) For me, this felt like my generation’s moon landing. It seemed that children of all ages tuned in and watched the heavily-advertised stunt go down in the record books, white-knuckled and balancing on the edge of their seats. No one was immune to the captivating allure of this death-defying stunt; it was epic.
In the wake of Wallenda’s momentous accomplishment and the ensuing media frenzy, it appears that the circus industry as a whole is benefiting. According to My Suncoast,
As Wallenda’s walk created a surge of interest in circus and circus arts across the world, it focused the spotlight on Sarasota as Nik’s hometown and the vocal point of circus history. Folks in the circus industry expect it to pay off big time.
The circus is an important part of our culture and a big business here in on the Suncoast.
Sailor Circus, which is now a part of Circus Sarasota, opened its summer camp on Monday to a packed house. This day camp in circus arts for kids 6 to 15 is a sellout attracting kids from all over the country, and Wallenda’s walk is a part of the draw.
“Nik being tenacious to do the walk and getting the permits and the engineering and getting the cable across it…to say everything is possible and let us show you what as men and as people we can actually achieve,” says Circus Sarasota Founder/CEO Pedro Reis.
This renewed interest in circus that had lost some of its glitter in recent years is expected to pay off big time in Sarasota. For one thing, it increased ticket sales at Circus Sarasota’s Summer Show that opens in the historic Asolo Theater in the Ringling Museum on Tuesday. “The Nik Wallenda walk really, really gave us a lot of awareness.”
It’s also expected to bring an increase in interest and an increase in paying customers at the Circus Museum at the Ringling Museum.
To read the rest of this article, click here, and hats off yo you Nik! Everyone is the circus biz owes you a well-deserved “Thanks.”
While i agree this walk is great for circus i found this line rather over the top…
“For me, this felt like my generation’s moon landing.”
The moon landing was a real breakthrough in science, that went onto define a generation, much like the Higgs particle news of today. The wire walk is ‘just’ a recreation of a spectacle already done.
Having said that I love that it was done and am really enjoying some of the images generated from such a stunt.
You are my hero!! It’s awesome to see someone who is so brave.. Every stunt you do, my prayers are with you. Thank you for showing the world ,that anyone can move mountains!!! You just have to believe