The big top will go up in Okarche Friday, Sept. 29 with the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus back in town at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
The shows will be 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the church, 211 Missouri Ave.
Sponsors are the Okarche Lions Club, Okarche Knights of Columbus and Krittenbrink Pharmacy.
The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus has been featured in an A&E show called “Under the Big Top, Nick News: On the Road with Circus Kids.” And most recently they were featured on OETA’s Big Top Town.
The circus has performances with big cats presented by Trey Key. Aerialist extraordinaire Simone is on the trapeze, and the circus features the 10th generation Loyal Bareback Horse Riders, the Perez Daredevil Duo on the tight rope and wheel of destiny Elizabeth Ayala performs foot-juggling and hair-hanging.
The circus features favorite circus clown Leo Acton.
The schedule for Friday, Sept. 21 includes a 9:30 a.m. tent-raising. Tours of the grounds will be offered for free.
The midway opens at 4 p.m. with pony rides, moon bounce, face-painting, concession stand and box office for tickets to the shows. Each show lasts about 90 minutes. Advance tickets are $13 and box office tickets $16 for adults and $9 for children and adults 65 and older. Box office tickets go on sale an hour before each show. A higher percentage of advance ticket sales goes to the sponsors, according to a release.
