Big top coming Monday
PANAMA CITY BEACH - After more than a year of preparation, the Circus by the Sea is coming to town.
The famed Florida State University Flying High Circus will make its pre-season debut at Frank Brown Park on Monday morning when a massive tractor-trailer is due to arrive from Tallahassee bearing the circus's massive 240-by-140-foot tent.
Circus staff members, under the supervision of Circus Director Chad Mathews, will erect the big top over a two-day period as the organization prepares for its initial summer performance season at the Beach a month later.
One of only two collegiate circus programs, the FSU program has committed to an initial 10-year summer season at Frank Brown Park, Circus by the Sea President Don Hamrick told the Beach Chamber of Commerce at a presentation Friday.
Staffed by 19 FSU students who have trained in circus acrobatics and stage performances, the Circus by the Sea will conduct a daily performance in the three-ring tent at 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday from June 13 to Aug. 2. It will hold matinee performances on July 4-5 at 3 p.m.
Fares for the performances will be $24 for adults and $16 for children ages 4 to 16. Children under 4 will be admitted free.
A special gala inaugural performance called "FSU Day at the Circus" will take place June 12 at 7 p.m. Open to the public, the circus is inviting FSU students and alumni to come wearing their school colors of garnet and gold. Tickets for the special event are priced at $15 for all ages.
"This is a summer job for them," Hamick said of the FSU students, who perform and operate the circus in Tallahassee during the school year as an extracurricular activity. "Students rig the equipment, sew costumes and raise the big top."
In addition, the college students will run a four-day summer day camp each week offering youngsters ages 7 to 12 an opportunity to train in basics of acrobatic performance, rigging and safety, he said. Six camp sessions will run Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the first beginning June 23. Each Thursday, the camp attendees will assist the college performers at the evening show. The weekly cost for Summer Camp is $285 per child with lunch and a snack included each day.
Hamrick said the Circus by the Sea gives Panama City Beach a major family oriented attraction that will improve significantly the quality of life for both vacationers and residents.
"I've been proud to be on some of the greatest stages in the world," Hamrick said of his long career as an opera singer. "But I've run away to join the circus."