Citing high operating costs and declining ticket sales the circus is closing. I always felt bad for the animals, but man no more circus? Sad really. Who doesn't remember going to the circus when they were kids?
"The Ringling Bros. circus is closing down after more than 100 years in operation, according to a press release from Feld Entertainment, which has owned the circus for the last 50 years."
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/14/entertainment/ringling-circus-closing/index.html
A bit Sad.
It appears PITA won, and the 25 Million it cost the circus, along with protesters hurt.
Cant blame wanting to stop animal cruelty, and I was hoping that the circus would change to animal awareness
instead of tricks.
If one ever gets to Sarasota, Florida, the Ringling Museum is a Must.
and as a PT Barnum Fan, myself, I highly recommend this book.
A read really for everyone, as the personal side shares shares life as the 19th century turned.
How business and the world ran, pre phone and wire, so letter writing to have a business conversation or government
is a big insight.
Our partial Communist Government, Barnums role in Politics,
and his Humanitarian work.
Of course, the greatest showman, and a Brilliant insight into the start of what is like Realty TV and entertainment today
started from his mind.
havent been in ages.....but loved the circus
Oh, and his home in Bridgeport, CT is a surprise as a Museum!
Quoted from OLDPINGUY:A bit Sad.
It appears PITA won, and the 25 Million it cost the circus, along with protesters hurt.
Cant blame wanting to stop animal cruelty, and I was hoping that the circus would change to animal awareness
instead of tricks.
Allowing fringe groups to dictate your show content was always going to hurt attendance numbers and was really the beginning of the end.
PETA (who are also a PITA
) are simply way too selective in their witch hunts to have any sort of credibility and once you get in their sights they won't let up.
Much like a zoo, exotic live animals were the only marketing edge they had in competing with so many other modern entertainment avenues for your dollar.
Quoted from pinsanity:Allowing fringe groups to dictate your show content was always going to hurt attendance numbers and was really the beginning of the end.
PETA (who are also a PITA
Much like a zoo, live animals were the only marketing edge they had in competing with so many other modern entertainment avenues for your dollar.
PETA is all about power and money. Nothing less, nothing more It's too bad that our legal system has turned into a tool of the zealots. Guess it's safer for the elephants to battle with the poachers in the wild.
Quoted from badbilly27:declining ticket sales the circus is closing
Some cities have banned circus shows with animals acts with animals from Africa, or India. Can a circus survive on dogs and horses as the only parts of the animal acts? Clowns, acrobats, and magicians aside, the whole circus thing has come to a sad end.
It is kind of ludicrous that people think circus elephants can be sent back to Africa, animals which have never lived in the wild. There are a few elephant sanctuary's in America. Very large closed in pastures were the elephants can be near, or with other elephants.
Wonder what will happen to the PTB train? Will rail cars be up for sale?
Not sorry to see the animals go, but wish they could have continued on in some form. Always did have a thing for those acrobatic ladies with the hula hoops.
Quoted from Methos:PETA is all about power and money. Nothing less, nothing more It's too bad that our legal system has turned into a tool of the zealots. Guess it's safer for the elephants to battle with the poachers in the wild.
You sound like an expert. I'm sure there's a radio show somewhere that will have you on as a guest.
Quoted from Darcy:Wonder what will happen to the PTB train? Will rail cars be up for sale?
Two trains. "Red" and "blue". I worked on one of the first Rockwell satellite tracking systems that were installed on them. Circa 1993-4.
Quoted from jahbarron:You sound like an expert. I'm sure there's a radio show somewhere that will have you on as a guest.
Not Limbaugh...too busy eating Rxs.
I'm sorry to see them close. I've watched their shows about 8 times now and have one final show coming later this month in Tampa. The shows are amazing and I think they do more to show the capabilities and outstanding intelligence of the world's beautiful animals than otherwise. It'll be a great loss that'll never return to the fabric of America. Sadly, American's attention spans are now too low to enjoy the shows, per the owners. I never knew the intelligence of Elephants and other animals until I saw the Greatest Show on Earth. I worry, that absent that, what will the next generation think about the worth of such beautiful and astonishingly smart animals absent boring television documentaries. It's unknown what this will lead to, but I predict the long-term fall out for animals will be diminished by the closing of Ringling Brothers. The activists might win the battle but lose the war, unfortunately.
I went to one a few years ago and while the show itself was good, every other aspect of the circus was out-control-expensive. I'm sure that they helped themselves out of business by making it totally unaffordable for many. If you think beer and nachos are expensive at a MLB game, don't think about buying anything at the circus. Hell, I get it that things like this are overpriced, but really, the shit (food and swag) that the circus sold would have made Disney look economy priced.
While I certainly am against animal cruelty, sometimes I wonder if PETA members and animal rights activists don't overly anthropomorphise the animal experience. Sure, humans would not want to be caged circus animals, but who really knows what goes through the minds of the animals. Animals don't think and feel the same as humans. I enjoyed going to the circus with my family as a kid, and sadly I won't be able to do the same for my kids.
This news bummed me out all day.
I was fortunate enough to see the Circus Xtreme show a couple of months ago. I've seen many Vegas shows and big-deal plays and musicals, and this circus show had 'em all beat. Hands-down the most impressive live show I've ever seen. Truly The Greatest Show on Earth.
Every performer was absolutely stunning. The Wheel of Death guy had me screaming. The music (played by an awesome live band) held everything together, flowing the acts together incredibly seamlessly. The moment an act in the sky went dark, beautiful lighting revealed 100 people on the ground, already in motion in the next scene. That's right - scene. The show had a simply story, just enough for anyone, no mater what age or culture, to understand. I've never seen anything so much fun.
As far as the animals, all of the animals were beautiful and just as talented as the human performers. The dog act blew me away. The tiger act was equally amazing and I've never seen tigers so beautiful, healthy and playful. Not a one looked abused or sad.
As incredible as it all was, the arena was empty. The few kids that were there were glued to their tablets instead of the trapezes.
Such a shame nobody will ever see this again. Fuck you, people.
Quoted from vicjw66:While I certainly am against animal cruelty, sometimes I wonder if PETA members and animal rights activists don't overly anthropomorphise the animal experience. Sure, humans would not want to be caged circus animals, but who really knows what goes through the minds of the animals. Animals don't think and feel the same as humans. I enjoyed going to the circus with my family as a kid, and sadly I won't be able to do the same for my kids.
Maybe? Maybe not....I have a sense of trust in Natgeo
I was just looking at my parents honeymoon photo album. There are a couple photos of them standing at the bar in the Ringling mansion in Sarasota. I've been to the mansion/ Museum several times. Fond memories of the circus.
Quoted from OLDPINGUY:Maybe? Maybe not....I have a sense of trust in Natgeo
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140221-elephants-poaching-empathy-grief-extinction-science/
Well obviously the poaching of elephants is a different situation. And while certain animals have traits in common with humans, they really are quite different than us, chimps/apes being a possible exception.
Quoted from RWH:Liberals, can't have or do anything.
when was the last time you went to a circus? Barnum and Bailey's failure has nothing to do with "liberals" and everything to do with very few people giving a shit about going to the circus anymore.
their decision to phase out the elephants may have sped up the inevitable, but the circus was on its way out either way. my college roommate was a manager for them for several years. lived on the train. he said it was inevitable ten years ago.
and for what it's worth, elephants are one of the smartest animals on Earth -- they have the most massive brain of any land animal, with the same number of neurons as a human brain. Elephants are basically as intelligent as chimps and have an extremely large and complex hippocampus, which controls memory and emotion (this also makes them particularly susceptible to PTSD). I think phasing them out of their act was probably the right thing to do.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_cognition
much of that article is interesting, but i found the "death rituals" section particularly fascinating:
Elephants are one of few species of mammals other than Homo sapiens sapiens and Neanderthals known to have or have had any recognizable ritual around death. Elephants show a keen interest in the bones of their own kind (even unrelated elephants that have died long ago). They are often seen gently investigating the bones with their trunks and feet while remaining very quiet. Sometimes elephants that are completely unrelated to the deceased still visit their graves.
Elephant researcher Martin Meredith recalls in his book an occurrence of a typical elephant death ritual as witnessed by Anthony Hall-Martin, a South African biologist who had studied elephants in Addo, South Africa, for over eight years. The entire family of a dead matriarch, including her young calf, were all gently touching her body with their trunks, trying to lift her. The elephant herd were all rumbling loudly. The calf was observed to be weeping and made sounds that sounded like a scream, but then the entire herd fell incredibly silent. They then began to throw leaves and dirt over the body and broke off tree branches to cover her. They spent the next two days quietly standing over her body. They sometimes had to leave to get water or food, but they would always return.
Quoted from Ed209:Clowns are scary so this is fantastic news. Let's close kids birthdays next please.
LOL
Last tme I took the kids it was very different then I remembered .More of a B'way show then a Circus.
The "story" was the clowns steal the Ringmasters hat,and thwe rest of the show was him trying to recover his magic hat.Whether the elephants,tigers ,motorcycle guys trapeze girls or clowns had it; all played keep away until the finale when dude gets hat back.
Ohh and it is all set to music.
So really a musical with a circus theme.
If it stayed true to its origins maybe they could have kept going.
Quoted from RyThom:Such a shame nobody will ever see this again.
Dude youre talking Vegas show.Ringling bros. is WAY different.
Times have changed ...
My grandfather grew up in Philadelphia. He was proud to have seen Ringling Bros/ Barnum Bailey at least once a year every year from 1918 up to 1988. Way Back then it was the event of the year for most people whether they were young or old.
There are at least 39 pins with the word 'Circus' in the title. And at least 100 with a Circus/Carnival theme.
http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?name=circus&sortby=name&searchtype=advanced
There's a side of me that clings onto the romantic notion of what the circus was, but honestly that was before the internet.
On any given day I see videos that are more death-defying or freakier than anything the circus has to offer. They never stepped up the level of entertainment to compensate.
Quoted from dmbjunky:Aren't there other circuses? There's always one locally every summer but I don't remember seeing the Ringling Bros on it.
This news makes me want to go see one.
The Ringling/BB was the largest and had the most history. Some would say it was the most highbrow of the various versions. The Shriner one comes around by me, but it isn't the same.
The Ringling/BB was about the spectacle of the circus and the Felds have done a hell of a job taking it as far as they could.
Quoted from RWH:Liberals, can't have or do anything.
Lol
You haven't been to the circus in 30 years and somehow this is "liberals'" fault.
In a completely unrelated tangent, why does pinball seem to attract so many circus clowns?
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Lol
You haven't been to the circus in 30 years and somehow this is "liberals'" fault.
In a completely unrelated tangent, why does pinball seem to attract so many circus clowns?
It isn't his fault just because he hasn't gone.
I'm just glad that the zealots can now put more focus around banning fishing.
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/cruel-sports/fishing/
Quoted from Methos:It isn't his fault just because he hasn't gone.
I'm just glad that the zealots can now put more focus around banning fishing.
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/cruel-sports/fishing/
That's got to be a lost cause there. 
Fish aren't cute which is a big reason for animal activism.
Quoted from dmbjunky:That's got to be a lost cause there. Fish aren't cute which is a big reason for animal activism.
Quoted from Methos:It isn't his fault just because he hasn't gone.
I'm just glad that the zealots can now put more focus around banning fishing.
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/cruel-sports/fishing/
It is his fault. The circus is closing because ticket sales have been declining steadily for over a decade, not because of "liberals."
See what Lloyd says whenever someone complains about an arcade closing. "When was the last time you went?"
Also. Liberals or something.
I took my family to the Shrine Circus a couple years ago. Mainly because I know it's something that won't last forever. I thought it would be something neat for them to experience before it's too late. We all enjoyed it but I don't think it's something they would cry over if they missed it.
Maybe I'll be able to pick up one of those human cannonballs on the cheap now.
Talk about backyard bbq entertainment!
Quoted from vicjw66:Animals don't think and feel the same as humans.
That's correct at least...
Humans don't think or feel at all.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:It is his fault. The circus is closing because ticket sales have been declining steadily for over a decade, not because of "liberals."
See what Lloyd says whenever someone complains about an arcade closing. "When was the last time you went?"
Also. Liberals or something.
From the articles, it states that the ticket sale decline is in part due to lack of animal presence and the litigation cost.
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