®An Island Publishers Newsmagazine

July 25, 1990

LIFE IN THE CIRCUS

By KERRY READSHAW
This Week Staff
he ringmaster is a
white and gold
birthday-cake fig-
ure and his bass

Birum voice brings back
childhood dreams about
joining the circus.

- “LADIES and GENTLEMEN,
BOYS and GIRLS... .”hebegins,
as fireworks arc across a space
usually skated by hockey
players. “The Victoria Shrine
Club and George Carden are
pleased to bring you cirCUS IN-

ETERNATIONAAAAAL”

» Upbeat rock music mixes with

orimitive drum throb and, in

mere stands, little kids spill pop-
szorn as they try for ma glimpse

mi DANGER and BRAVERY

through scarred plexi-glass.

ssright lights twist against se-
ined bodies and two paper-

Gell beautiful people twirl from

the: metal roof girders of the
Memerial Arena. The audience

#— perhaps smaller than the

“Shriners would like for a Friday

anight performance — is still,

@ frozen by a spell normal only for

@ illagers in fairy tales. When a

dark-haired boy offering plastic

glow swords wanders along the
aisles, he gets no takers.

“They only cost $4,” he wheed-
les. “And they last longer than a
($2) candy apple.”

But BRUNO and his TIGERS
have entered the ring and the
plastic sword vendor can’t com-
pete with the attraction of the
bare-chested jungle man’s Tar-
zan-styled hair or the sleekly
frightening tigers. Souvenirs
will wait until intermission.
People in the $8-ticket crowd are
curious to see whether one of the
BIG CATS will chomp off brave
Bruno's head, whether the whip
really touches the UNPRE-
DICTABLE beasts and whether
there's something... anything.

. a civilian can do to be part of

CLOWNS AND CHUCKLES were pant of the Shrine Circus which
came fo town for the July 6 weekend. But while these Shrine
clowns, Sunny, Burp and Rainbow, cavored in front of the

the exotic circus clan.

From the safely-shadowed
bleachers, circus life seems a
glorious combination of light,
music and beauty — an escape
granted only to the romantic
and carefree, an escape from
responsibility.

In fact, the circus is one of the
Shrine Club’s main fund-raisers
and provides money — al-
though Shrine Giza Temple offi-
cials won’t say how much is
raised or what percentage of it
they receive — for Shrine

charities. In Victoria, 320
Shriners lead a far from carefree
life as they organize the yearly
circus. Such efforts are also com-
mon in other areas of the club's
B.C/Yukon district and for the
36 days George Carden Circus
International contracts its ser-
vices to the club's district, after-
noon shows often supplement
nightly performances.

Unlike at circuses of a century
ago, these shows do not feature
five-headed monsters, the
world’s fattest woman or

Memorial Arena, members of the George Carden Circus
International troupe dealt with the every-day reality of circus

life.

clandestine peep-booths. This
circus is just as Shrine circuses
have always been. Shriners
wear red, tasseled, fez hats. Cir-
cus ladies look exotically stun-
ning as they perform LIFE
DEFYING feats. Muscled circus
men seem a breed unto themsel-
ves. Animals, clowns, and
acrobats titillate, amuse and
thrill. But the tradition — the
spectacle — is not all there is to
the occasion.

Away from the audience,
beyond the scent of cotton candy,

isthe real circus.

“We're not abnormal people.
There’s no such thing as a circus
breed,” insists Dino Medeiros,
director of George Carden Inter-
national. “We have everyone
here. Maybe ex-plumbers, ex-
teachers, ex-convicts. They
come here for the same reasons
people take any job. Lots of my
women meet one of the guys, fall
in love, one thing leads to
another and, next thing you
know, they're in the circus.”

Continued on Page 3