Posted on 01/15/2017 4:10:10 PM PST by digger48
ELLENTON, Fla. (AP) - The owners of Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced Saturday that they will close the 146-year-old show in May.
Kenneth Feld, the chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus, said declining attendance combined with high operating costs are the reasons for closing.
Follow Ringling Bros. ✔ @RinglingBros .@RinglingBros will hold its final performances in May of this year. Details: https://goo.gl/75ndaN #RinglingBros 10:31 PM - 14 Jan 2017 2,262 2,262 Retweets 2,003 2,003 likes NBA star Shaquille O'Neal was among those who appeared upset over the announcement that the circus will end, expressing his dismay on Twitter. Follow SHAQ ✔ @SHAQ Famed Ringling Bros. circus closing - CNN noooooo pls don't close whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy nooooooooo noooooooooo https://apple.news/A3ag6AcaRS9GTTSzoLrjm8w … 12:10 AM - 15 Jan 2017 Photo published for Famed Ringling Brothers Circus closing Famed Ringling Brothers Circus closing Ringling Brothers Circus is closing down after more than 100 years in operation, according to a press release from Feld Entertainment, which has owned the circus for the last 50 years. apple.news 287 287 Retweets 922 922 likes
WHEN IS THE CIRCUS' FINAL SHOW?
Ringling Bros. has two touring circuses this season: "Circus Extreme" and "Out of This World." The final show for "Circus Extreme" will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, and the other will close after a performance in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21. .
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WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN NOW AND MAY?
The two touring circuses will perform a total of 30 shows over the next four months. Most of the shows will be held in the South or the East Coast. Major stops include Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn. Tickets can still be purchased online and at venues.
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WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE EMPLOYEES?
The Feld family has owned the circus for 49 years, and employs some 500 people for the show. Those employees were told about the closure on Saturday night, after shows in Orlando and Miami. A handful will be placed in positions with the company's other shows - it owns Monster Jam, Disney on Ice and Marvel Live, among other things - but most will be out of a job. Chief Operating Officer Juliette Feld said the company will help employees with job placement and resumes. In some cases where a circus employee lives on the tour rail car (the circus travels by train), the company will also help with housing relocation.
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WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE ANIMALS?
In May of 2016, Ringling retired all of its elephants to a property in central Florida. Forty elephants live at the Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk County. But the circus still has other animals, such as lions, tigers, camels, donkeys, alpacas, kangaroos and llamas.
Juliette Feld says homes will be found for the animals, but the company will continue operating the Center for Elephant Conservation.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE COSTUMES AND PROPS?
The Feld family hasn't decided what it will do with the enormous warehouse filled with circus costumes and props. Kenneth Feld says the company will continue to work with the Circus Museum at The Ringling in Sarasota. That museum holds memorabilia dating to the 1800s, when John Ringling and his family founded Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Not surprised.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE COSTUMES AND CLOWNS?
Ask Nancy Pelosi.
Good. Too many clowns.
May as well consider this a prophetic sign.
Forty elephants live at the Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk County.
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Hopefully none still confined as the were in 1999 when the center unbelievably (or not) failed a USDA inspection due to its restraint policy.
Libtard SJWs have demonized circuses to the point that animal acts are shunned and you are left with cirque du soleil fru fru clown acts.
To be a bankable enterprise, Barnum and Bailey should make capital off of those sucker Democrats.
How about taking the 2016 election (a ratings winner) on tour and hosting a three ring circus with Obama in the middle ring? Put Bernie in the Left Ring and Hillary on the tipsy end...
Thanks For The
A Sad Day Indeed
Sad, but it was a relic. Nothing lasts forever. Circus Vargas is apparently thriving.
Congress. They'll feel right at home there.
112 posts on yesterday’s thread
APNewsBreak: Ringling Bros. circus to close after 146 years
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3514100/posts
I was once at the gym and watched a guy do a handstand. He held it very solidly for about a minute. There was no wavering at all. Then he proceeded to do splits, a little unusual for a guy. I asked him if he was a professional athlete. He told me he was in the circus. I still remember it and believe that the people who work there are definitely professional athletes.
Animal Rights group killed the circus for the little children.
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