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APNewsBreak: Ringling Bros. circus to close after 146 years
AP ^ | 14 Jan 2017 | AP

Posted on 01/14/2017 7:44:36 PM PST by Hillarys Gate Cult

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To: Hillarys Gate Cult

They used to run some animal cars on the rail line near me going to the city. Would let some of the animals out to graze and have a breather.


21 posted on 01/14/2017 8:00:20 PM PST by RushIsMyTeddyBear (****happy dance**** BIGLY!!!!)
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult

They can’t compete against the circus we already live in.


22 posted on 01/14/2017 8:00:48 PM PST by BradyLS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS!)
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult
We took our grand kids to see them just last winter. The kids were as mesmerized as I was in my younger years.

There were also lots of fans who came to see them.

This is a tragedy.

23 posted on 01/14/2017 8:02:13 PM PST by stevem
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult
Ringling Bros. ‏@RinglingBros 30m30 minutes ago
.@RinglingBros will hold its final performances in May of this year.

Details: https://twitter.com/hashtag/RinglingBros?src=hash

24 posted on 01/14/2017 8:03:40 PM PST by HokieMom (Pacepa : Can the U.S. afford a president who can't recognize anti-Americanism?)
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To: rey

+1.

L


25 posted on 01/14/2017 8:04:05 PM PST by Lurker (America burned the witch.)
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A message from Kenneth Feld, chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, the producer of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®

After much evaluation and deliberation, my family and I have made the difficult business decision that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® will hold its final performances in May of this year. Ringling Bros. ticket sales have been declining, but following the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an even more dramatic drop. This, coupled with high operating costs, made the circus an unsustainable business for the company.

Nearly 50 years ago, my father founded our company with the acquisition of Ringling Bros. The circus and its people have continually been a source of inspiration and joy to my family and me, which is why this was such a tough business decision to make. The decision was even more difficult because of the amazing fans that have become part of our extended circus family over the years, and we are extremely grateful to the millions of families who have made Ringling Bros. part of their lives for generations. We know Ringling Bros. isn’t only our family business, but also your family tradition.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents Circus XTREME will conclude its tour at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., on May 7, 2017, and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents Out Of This World will conclude its tour at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on May 21, 2017. We hope you will come to celebrate this American icon for one last time before our tours conclude.

Our company provides quality, live family entertainment, and we invite you to bring your family to one of our other events, including Marvel Universe LIVE!, Monster Jam, Monster Energy Supercross, AMSOIL Arenacross, Disney On Ice and Disney Live!, as well as future productions.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has served as inspiration for all of the live entertainment produced at Feld Entertainment. We learned from the circus, and applied those learnings to our other productions. Without Ringling Bros., we wouldn’t have the vibrant live entertainment company that we have today. Ringling Bros. will always be part of Feld Entertainment, and its spirit will live on in every production and project we do.

Sincerely,

Kenneth

https://www.ringling.com/


26 posted on 01/14/2017 8:07:31 PM PST by HokieMom (Pacepa : Can the U.S. afford a president who can't recognize anti-Americanism?)
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To: RoseofTexas
It was an annual event for our family. I'm glad my boys were able to enjoy it. I took them mostly the see Gunther Gebel-Williams. He had quite a remarkable rapport with his cats. Quite the showman.


27 posted on 01/14/2017 8:09:41 PM PST by Daffynition ( "The New PTSD: Post-Trump Stress Disorder" - The MLN didn't make Trump, so they can't break Trump.)
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To: Flycatcher

What’s a circus without elephants?
Animal rights crazies are too much of a pain in the arse.


28 posted on 01/14/2017 8:09:46 PM PST by piasa
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To: ClearCase_guy
Big Apple Circus is also on the verge of shutting down.

Lack of kids, and change of culture. Many kids today are likely watching porn.

By midcentury, the circus was routine, wholesome family entertainment. But as the 20th century went on, kids became less and less enthralled. Movies, television, video games and the internet captured young minds. The circus didn't have savvy product merchandising tie-ins or Saturday morning cartoons to shore up its image.

The Feld family bought the Ringling circus in 1967. The show was just under 3 hours then. Today, the show is 2 hours and 7 minutes, with the longest segment — a tiger act — clocking in at 12 minutes. "Try getting a 3- or 4-year-old today to sit for 12 minutes," he said.

29 posted on 01/14/2017 8:11:43 PM PST by daniel1212 ( Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned and destitute sinner+ trust Him to save you, then follow Him!)
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To: Grams A

My Dad took my brother and I to see the Ringling Bros. circus in 1956 where we saw the Cisco Kid and Poncho ride into the big tent on their horses while firing their six shooters.


30 posted on 01/14/2017 8:11:50 PM PST by Inyo-Mono
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To: Jim Noble

“Ticket sales have been crashing since they got rid of the elephants.”

That’s what I immediately thought of too.


31 posted on 01/14/2017 8:12:42 PM PST by vladimir998 (Apparently I'm still living in your head rent free. At least now it isn't empty.)
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To: Daffynition

One thing no one could deny about Gunther Gebel-Williams is that he and his family came to love America:

See the 3:40 mark at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoy3uATl1VA


32 posted on 01/14/2017 8:17:18 PM PST by vladimir998 (Apparently I'm still living in your head rent free. At least now it isn't empty.)
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult

I stopped going when they dumped the Sideshow.


33 posted on 01/14/2017 8:18:52 PM PST by JonPreston
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To: rey

Funny, but Congress continues on....


34 posted on 01/14/2017 8:19:17 PM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: ButThreeLeftsDo; Redcitizen
Nope, one of the main reasons this circus is closing down is because radical animal rights activists forced the main attraction of the circus -- the elephants -- out. Because of so-called "cruelty", as they perceive it. Ringling retired the elephants after 2015, then the activists went after the other circus animals.

I went to this circus as a child, as did my parents and grandparents before me. My husband and I went when it came to Hartford, CT in 2015 specifically to see the elephants for the last time.

I had conversations with several animal handlers before the circus started (they let people wander around looking at the animals behind fences and cages). They were quite upset about the charges of cruelty, and assured me all animals were treated very well. From what I saw up close, all animals looked healthy and content.

Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus is a part of American history. How sad it will be gone forever after May 2017. :-(

35 posted on 01/14/2017 8:21:19 PM PST by nutmeg (CNN has *always* been FAKE NEWS)
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To: Emergencyawesome

Baraboo, Wisc. deeply effected....


36 posted on 01/14/2017 8:21:26 PM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: PAR35

Are the ‘Rats there as a Side Show?


37 posted on 01/14/2017 8:22:15 PM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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To: Emergencyawesome; always vigilant; America needs to wakeup; ams228; Anarchist; Andrew Hyman; ...
The RB story is incomplete without mention of the great Hartford Circus Fire: “The Tent’s on Fire!” – … and that the Hartford Circus Fire may be the worst human-caused disaster ever to have taken place in Connecticut. July 6, 1944 was dubbed *the Day the Clowns Cried*

Anyone who lived in that era, has a remarkable story about the Circus Fire. It touched so many.


38 posted on 01/14/2017 8:22:22 PM PST by Daffynition ( "The New PTSD: Post-Trump Stress Disorder" - The MLN didn't make Trump, so they can't break Trump.)
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult

Those Mexican circuses out in CA are doing ok, or seem to be. They probably get over with cheap illegal labor.


39 posted on 01/14/2017 8:23:34 PM PST by rey
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To: ClearCase_guy

Congress can be considered/treated as a Circus....


40 posted on 01/14/2017 8:23:48 PM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
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