I was so excited to be invited to attend an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus on opening night! The theme this year is “Dragons” and we will be attending the show on Saturday when my hubbie is the guest ringmaster. But we could not pass up the opportunity to see some elephants very up close and personal.
Why, hello there! They were very cute. Daniel and Annabel were thrilled to be so close to the beautiful creatures. Some of them are over 40 years old and there was also a 3-year-old baby elephant. We also saw the horses and Annabel’s favorite, an adorable pony.
We walked through the backstage area where we saw some cool props and motorcycles. We finished up center stage where the pre-show celebration had just begun!
I was so bummed that Annabel didn’t want to try on one of the sparkly ringmaster coats (there was even a pink one!).
But they both left with the best Circus accessory of all…
I couldn’t resist.
Special thanks to Feld Entertainment and their PR agency for the fun experience. They also provided my sister site, PopKidsReport.com, with tickets for give-a-way. We can’t wait to see all the “Dragon” action this Saturday afternoon! (And I will be keeping my distance from those harmless little clowns.)
*Please note that the Feld Entertainment PR Agency provided me with complimentary tickets to a show as well as an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour. All thoughts and opinions are always 100% my own and I was in no way compensated monetarily for the PopKidsReport contest or this overview.
4 Comments
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate all points of view expressed on this website. – Pam
Hello — I don’t care whether you post my comment or not but what would be great is if you could read this article by a Pulitzer Prize award winning journalist —
http://motherjones.com/environment/2011/10/ringling-bros-elephant-abuse
There is a lot Feld publicists don’t want the public to know, that you will not see, even in a backstage tour.
Three years ago, Feld Entertainment was sued in federal court for its treatment of its elephants. I attended much of the trial and heard many Feld employees, including Kenneth Feld himself, testify under oath to the brutality used in their training. Many expert witnesses also testified to the poor conditions in which the elephants are kept.
The trial transcripts are all online; I’m happy to give you a link if you’re interested.
Thanks.
Dr. Joyce Poole is a elephant researcher for 35 years and she states: “How many children would choose to go to the circus if they knew what takes place behind the scenes? ….The totally unnatural existence for circus elephants is a travesty and to allow this practice to continue is unjustified and unethical.”
http://www.elephantvoices.org/elephant-interests/-in-circuses.html
Ringling just paid a record fine of $270,000 for 24 violations of the Animal Welfare Act.http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/FEI_signed_agreement.pdf.
This does not sound like wholesome family entertainment to me.
Please do your homework on how Ringling really treats its elephants. Chained and beaten and confined, all for your entertainment! http://www.circuses.com they have numerous USDA violations and were brought to trial for the abuse of their elephants and fined. The Humane Society of the US to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and PAWS confirm the abuse and do not support animal circuses.
Please reconsider their PR tactics and find animal-friendly avenues of entertainment for your kids.
Thanks!