30th Annual Children's Circus of Middletown August 3

The Children’s Circus of Middletown will be celebrating its 30^th annual summer performance with The Children’s Circus Grows Up! on Friday, August 3 at 5 pm at Macdonough School in Middletown.

Thirty years old and finally ready to grow up, The Children's Circus Grows Up! will play with the theme of growth and growing up. Featuring some 150 youth performers ages 5-16, the expansive outdoor spectacle will offer acts ranging from unicycle traffic jams while en route to work to a full blown acrobatics mid-life crisis! See a hungry caterpillar eat through an overgrown jungle before its incredible metamorphosis into a butterfly! Witness an epic tale of a curious school of young fish exploring the depths of their ocean! Experience the young people of Middletown sharing their incredible circus skills, hoops of fire, giant puppets and the raucous music live circus band. The Children’s Circus of Middletown is a Connecticut tradition like no other!

The 30th annual Children's Circus of Middletown will also be a celebration of OUR growth over the past 30 years as one of Connecticut’s most exciting and unique summer learning experiences for kids, their families and the community. Started by Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater with 60 kids at Powder Ridge ski area in Middlefield in 1988, the Children’s Circus has been embraced by the City of Middletown and grown into a program which has become a national model as a partnership between a non-profit arts organization and a municipality. The Children’s Circus performance is the culmination of a five week day camp as part of the City of Middletown’s Kids Arts program. Over the five weeks the young people are trained in performance skills, acrobatics, juggling, unicycling, clowning, stilt dancing, balancing and other circus arts.

The Children’s Circus of Middletown and Oddfellows Playhouse were recognized this year by the National Summer Learning Association as winners of the 2018 New York Life Foundation Excellence in Summer Learning Award.

This year’s performance will begin with a short pre-show performance at 5 pm sharp by the “Teeny Tiny Troupe” of 5 – 7 year old performers, then Middletown Mayor Dan Drew will welcome the audience and introduce the main event. The performance annually draws over 1000 people, so audience members are encouraged to arrive early to get a good spot. Bring a blanket, lawn chairs, a picnic, and enjoy The Children’s Circus Grows Up!  In case of rain, the performance will be held on Saturday, August 4 at 5 pm.

Alumni of the Children’s Circus over the last 30 years are invited to join us for this summer’s performance. Please be in touch with the Playhouse to let us know that you are coming.

Tickets to the Children’s Circus of Middletown are $5 for adults and $3 for kids and can be purchased with cash at the door. Macdonough School is located at 66 Spring Street in Middletown. There is street parking available throughout the neighborhood; the school’s parking lot is reserved for elderly and handicapped only.

The Children’s Circus is part of the Kids Arts Program of the City of Middletown’s Office of the Arts and is directed and produced by Oddfellows Playhouse. Additional support is provided by the United Way of Middlesex County, the Middletown Commission on the Arts and the Community Foundation of Middlesex County.

For additional information, contact info@oddfellows.org, call (860) 347-6143 or go to www.oddfellows.org.

A few rehearsal shots by Lauren Sitz: