Off to flying
PANAMA CITY BEACH - It was a special night at Circus by the Sea for Shirley Pipkin.
The 74-year-old Panama City resident sat with four of her five grandchildren and daughter facing the center ring, where four collegiate circus performers were going through an increasingly complicated set of acrobatics using the "teeter board."
As the circus' opening-night audience of about 1,200 cheered loudly, performer Dierdre Lahey soared in a reverse somersault off the teeter board to land in a seat that was mounted atop a long pole held by another performer.
It brought a flood of memories back for Pipkin, who first performed in the Florida State University Flying High Circus 56 years ago.
"When the music started, I got real excited," said Pipkin, who attended the university from 1952-54.
"I remember training with Coach Jim Haskins," she said with a smile. "He was the original coach of the circus."
Pipkin recalled that one of the first things she had to learn was how to fall safely from the flying trapeze into the safety net 20 feet below.
"It was a wonderful time," she said.
Pipkin was one of more than 30 alumni of the 61-year-old FSU circus on hand Thursday evening when Circus by the Sea staged its initial show under the big top at Frank Brown Park.
The event culminated months of planning by Florida State University officials and the Bay County Tourist Development Council, and weeks of hard work by the 19 circus performers, who manually erected the massive tent on the east end of the park last month before launching into an intense week of rehearsals.
‘Great time'
The 90-minute show provided a kaleidoscope of circus acrobatics, ranging from a four-man juggling act to the soaring acrobatics on the trapeze.
Circus by the Sea president Don Hamrick stood at the entrance to the big top before the lights went up, with a smile stretching his face and tears in his eyes.
"I'm just so tickled," Hamrick said. "Everybody seems to be having a great time."
As two circus performers twirled overhead in the first and third rings on the "cloud swing," 5-year-old Madison Hash sat with her grandmother in a bleacher seat with eyes as big as the moon and a colorful flower painted on her cheek.
Asked if she would like to be a circus performer one day, the young Columbus, Ga., resident paused, then said, "Yes, I'd like to do a back flip."
After the final ovation from the crowd, the student performers gathered on the center ring stage to mingle with members of the audience. Standing nearby, circus manager Chad Mathews smiled wearily.
"It was a pretty good performance, although there are still some improvements to be made," Mathews said.
Her face still glowing with perspiration from the show, Lahey said she was pleased with opening night. "It went pretty well," she said. "It was pretty solid."