The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus came to Alton, Missouri, on April 3, 2023, at Piney Creek Park. Although they were here only a day, there was a big turnout for the performances. Earlier in the day, one could go to the tent raising.
Cats
The circus has two tigers and a cat. Due to Wendell the lion coughing up hairballs, he did not make an appearance, but Delilah the tiger did appear to do some tricks.
Aerial Artists
There were two aerial artists: one was a trapeze artist and one was an acrobat who was only held up by her hair.
Trapeze
The trapeze artist came on about halfway through the show. She did some high-flying and daredevil tricks, almost touching the big top.
Hair Artist
Early on in the performance, one of the acrobats did a lot of spinning, twirling, and flying while only being held up by her hair.
Clown
A favorite of the whole crowd was Leo the Clown. Before the show began, he entertained the crowd with balancing tricks. He often came out between performances and also helped announce. During Leo’s performance, he came into the circle in a tiny car and did some balancing tricks.
Tight Rope
Near the middle of the show, a Brandon Romario Perez, a tight rope walker, came on. He walked across the tight rope several times, including one where he was blindfolded. He also rode a bike on the tight rope and stood on a chair while it was on the tight rope.
Horse Riding
The other animal act of the show included draft horses. The Lucana Loyal Repensky Riders, 10th generation circus artistry, entertained the crowd with their several tricks, both solo and duo, on the horses while the horses were trotting around the circle.
Spinning Wheels
As the last act of the performance, a brother (Brandon Ramario Perez) and sister duo came out to perform on the spinning wheels. While doing just the ordinary spinning, Ramario Perez climbed out of the wheel and did several tricks. Some of the tricks included going around the wheel while it was spinning while blindfolded; jumping on the wheel when it was near the top of the tent, getting some air time; and jump roping on the spinning wheels.
Concessions
Before the performance or during the intermission, the attendees had a variety of concessions to choose from including snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn, peanuts, soda, water, and others.
Activities and People
While the show wasn’t going on, the kids could go down the slide, go on the bouncy house, get their face painted, or go on the pony rides. At the 5:00 pm show, over 300 people showed up to enjoy the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus.
A big thanks go to the Alton Volunteer Fire Department for sponsoring the circus, and a big thanks to the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus for giving us a good show!
