It will be the largest celebration of Circus ever.
Circus enthusiasts from around the world will gather in West Springfield, Mass., to attend the very first Worldwide Circus Summit. Planning for this extraordinary event began more than two years ago and it will reach fruition at the Big E Fairgrounds on July 14 through 18, 2015.
One of my first articles written for WorthPoint, back in 2008, was about Circus Collector Fan Organizations, with information about a few of those groups. For decades, many circus organizations have held annual gatherings, but the Worldwide Circus Summit promises to be much, much more. To date, 45 circus organizations from around the world have signed on to participate and registration is open throughout the summit itself.
The Worldwide Circus Summit will be held at the Big E Fairgrounds on July 14-18, 2015.
The Worldwide Circus Summit is the brainchild of Gary Payne, president-elect of the Circus Fans Association of America, the host organization. “Circus . . . Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” will be the theme for the seminars, workshops and roundtable discussions.
Renowned Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Ringmaster, Johnathan Lee Iverson, will be the opening speaker and three circus experts—Deborah Walk, Peggy Williams and Amy Cohen—will oversee the elements of the circus theme.
Walk is the president of the Circus Historical Society, the Tibbal’s Curator of the Circus Museum and Curator of Historical Documents at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida. She will head up “The Circus Past” discussion. Williams, the Educational Outreach Manager at Feld Entertainment and a former Performance Director and Clown with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, will be in charge of “The Circus Today” talk. And Cohen, the executive director of the American Youth Circus Organization and a former Fulbright scholar whose mantra is “Circus can change the world,” will oversee “The Circus Tomorrow” conversation.
Participating organizations at the Worldwide Circus Summit include:
• Circus Fans Association of America (Sponsoring organization)
• Circus Historical Society
• Cole Bros. Circus (Official Host Circus)
• Eastern States Exposition
• American Circus Educators Association
• American Youth Circus Organization
• Big Apple Circus
• Bindlestiff Family Variety Arts
• Brian Boswell’s Circus (South Africa)
• Carousel Organ Association of America
• Circus and Traveling Show Ministry
• Circus Fans of Australasia (Australia and New Zealand)
• Circus Fans Italia (Italy)
• Circus Friends Association of Great Britain
• Circus Harmony
• Circus Joseph Ashton (Australia)
• Circus Juventas
• Circus Model Builders
• Circus Now
• Circus Producers Association
• Circus Report
• Circus Smirkus
• Circus World
• Clowns of America International
• Club du Cirque (France)
• European Circus Association
• Feld Entertainment
• Gesselschaft der Circusfreunde (Germany)
• Hamid Circus
• Kelly Miller Circus
• Kinoshita Circus (Japan)
• L’Association Monégasue des Amis du Cirque (Monaco)
• Le Monde du Cirque
• Mid-Atlantic Clown Association
• Milner Library, Illinois State University
• Outdoor Amusement Business Association
• Planet Circus
• Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
• R.W. Cummerford and Sons
• Spectacle Magazine
• The Ringling (Ringling Circus Museum)
• Universoul Circus
• Windjammers Unlimited
• World Circus Federation
• World Clown Association
Registration is now open. For more information, latest updates and a registration form, go to the Worldwide Circus Summit 2015 website.
Larry Kellogg is a Worthologist specializing in circus memorabilia.
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