A Ring of Circus Attractions

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There are only about 100 Florida panthers left in the wild, but you can see them at various zoos as well as Tampa's Big Cat Rescue.

Photo Credit: VISIT FLORIDA

Florida, home to America’s circus industry, has a large number of regularly scheduled circus-related public programs.

Cirque du Soleil (“Circus of the Sun”) was born from a group of Canadian street performers, who first performed as a company in 1984 to help Quebec City celebrate its 450th anniversary. Cirque creates innovative, live shows and presents them under big tops or in theaters around the world. In Florida, La Nouba is its resident show at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. La Nouba, and many other Cirque shows, go on tour and often stage performances in Miami and St. Petersburg. 407-939-7600

Lake Placid, a town of about 2,000 residents set in Highlands County in the south-central part of Florida, claims to have the most clowns per capita of any town in the state. Toby’s Clown School was founded there in 1993. Plus, more than 40 murals adorn the town, including a fence covered with more than 25 clowns, most of them replicas of clowns who live in Lake Placid.

Big Cat Rescue in Tampa is a nonprofit educational sanctuary founded in 1992 that offers scheduled tours of its facilities. Its mission is to rescue and provide a permanent home for exotic cats that have been abused, abandoned or retired from performing acts. The sanctuary houses 16 species of wild cat among its more than 100 residents, including tigers, lions, leopards, cougars, bobcats, lynx, ocelots, servals and caracals. Big Cat Rescue, 12802 Easy St., Tampa; 813-920-4130

The Flying High Circus at Florida State University in Tallahassee, founded in 1947, is an extracurricular activity for students. The students present an annual Homeshow performance series, taking place in April under the Big Top on campus. The students, who juggle, clown and perform on the flying trapeze and other apparatus, have been featured on national TV and have performed in Canada and the Caribbean. 850-644-4874

Gibsonton, a hamlet located 10 miles southeast of Tampa, is famous as a home to active and retired circus performers. It is home to the 4,500-member International Independent Showmen’s Association. The town, also known as Showtown USA, which is also the name of a local restaurant and bar, was founded in the early 1940s by Al the 8’4-½” giant and Jeanie the 2’ 6” “Half Girl.”