Has family entertainment like the circus become a thing of the past?

[DodgerGirl]

When I was a little girl I remember when county fairs had family entertainment like puppet shows and storytellers and when I was an infant I went to my very first and only circus and my very first Ice Capades show but have you noticed that family entertainment has disappeared and I cannot figure out why family entertainment disappeared? Is it because kids have lost interests in family entertainment like the circus and fairs with puppet shows and kids theater plays and they want to focus on other interests when they're older? Because I remember seeing a lot of commercials for Ringling Brothers/Barnum Bailey Circus every time the circus would be coming to town and I cannot figure out why people would bring kids to the circus and the only reason I know why the circus was so popular was so people could see the amazing circus acts and animals. It also used to be that they would also have concerts geared to young children such as Barney Live and Sesame Street Live and performers like Raffi and The Wiggles would do music concerts for young children too. But now if you look at family entertainment today the only entertainment for families today that are surviving are ice shows like Disney's World On Ice series and now shows like Marvel Live are popular today and if you look at the live family entertainment shows for younger children such as Dora The Explorer Live to Paw Patrol Live you'll notice that they have changed their image and are different from the live shows kids used to see in the past. If they would bring back good family entertainment such as storytellers and puppet shows and even magic shows for children with a real magician the children of this generation would adore it. But lately it seems that live pony shows are becoming huge popular family entertainment now at birthday parties
Have you noticed this new image in family entertainment such as live shows and at county fairs today?

 

[barkley]

with regards to the circus-ringling brothers had to shut down in 2017 due to weakening attendance, animal protesters and rising costs. they are currently in preproduction mode for an 'animal free' touring circus planned to hit the north america in fall 2023. we still get a local circus once a year-the shrine circus. it is very reminiscent of the circuses of the past (you see them raising the tents, it's not in a huge enclosed auditorium, lots of face to face interaction with the crowds). it's rather like a trip down memory lane.

other options we get in our area-

during the summer- at fairs near us: lots of animal related stuff. ffa/4h are very popular around here so lots of petting zoos, opportunities to learn about animal care, entertainment ranging from trick roping (lariats on fire twirling around), k9 kings who perform stunts, interact with the audience via Frisbee tricks, and finally clowns. a full day of dozens and dozens of clowns wandering the fairgrounds interacting with folks, setting up little impromptu performance, the other yearly fair we get seems to be focusing also on the animal aspect but will also have a magician and an illusionist.

kid focused entertainment for this summer include-large scale indoor magic show at the big auditorium in town, blue man group is performing there too as well as disney on ice. some of the local artists perform in the parks and libraries for kids/families. we have volunteers who read to kids during 'story hours; the local (and very good) children's theater is now selling tickets for their upcoming season which is a good deal-runs about 6 bucks for a ticket. they do about 6 shows per season.

i lived and participated in a very over saturated performing arts region. sadly, far too little was devoted to chidren and families, and that which was tended to be the overpriced national tours. i'm happy to see that my new home region puts allot of effort into include of all ages with an eye to keeping cost down so that they are affordable for younger families with multiple chidlren.

 

[Christine]

The poster above explained it with Ringling Brothers. Since then, we've had several "Cirque De Soleil" type circus acts that travel here (suburb outside a city). We've have one currently sitting in a parking lot of our local mall. It's called Circus Vazquez. We also get the Big Apple Circus. Both have websites and you can check to see if they are coming to your area.

Disney on Ice is still a thing (I know, no longer "Ice Capades") but they do a pretty good family show. I see they have a pretty full calendar for this year.

Lots of things were scaled back for the last two years but seemed to be reemerging.

 

[easyas123]

This time of year we have county fairs, 4-H fairs & fireman's carnivals all over the place. Delaware State Fair took place in July and the Maryland State Fair will be starting toward the end of the month. As far as a old fashioned circus, I can't recall the last time I saw one advertised.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We still have county fairs here, they were just scaled way back due to covid and are just now back to full strength.

Our library does a lot of storytimes, children's music programs, etc. (including a magician just a couple of weeks ago, I think).

I never felt comfortable at circuses, so I don't miss those. But I agree with a previous poster that the change is due to concern for animals, not unwillingness to produce things for a family audience.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Simply put, circuses were a living hell for animals, and often people, and that’s why they largely stopped.

Where we are there are plenty of activities for families that don’t involve abuse of others, and you don’t have to look very far to find them. Often the leading newspapers and websites call attention to them heading into the weekends.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Kids entertainment today very often is in their hands, video game devices. If they have a device in their hands, they are happy.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I think my family (me, husband and daughter) do a lot together as a family. We regularly watch movies together, especially when the new DVD's come out> Already watched Dr. Strange a week ago and Jurasic Park will be tonight. Daughter really enjoys anything Marvel so we've watched them plenty over and over again. We enjoy going to street festivals, fairs, craft shows and other area of interests. My daughter is 17 and she does a lot more with us, her parents, than I ever did with mine.

 

[Skippy918]

We’ve been to Disney on ice and cirque du soleil and other festivals around town. The shows are not cheap. Ticketmaster adds a ton of fees to the ticket price.

 

[Mysterian]

We have fairs here, Disney on Ice and Cirque. Also assorted other live shows of the same nature at the casinos. I believe some performers still do old-timey puppet shows too.

There’s also live entertainment at Waffle House when tempers run high. Audience participation included.

 

[RogueX]

I know in Boston during school vacations there were times when Disney on Ice was popular. I took my daughter when she was younger. I'm not sure if they have been doing it since COVID protocols loosened.

For a while there was a circus with only human performers and ponies, though I can't remember who it was since it a few years ago.

As a sign of the times it seems, a very long running fair south of Boston, that has been operating since the 1800s has closed operations as of this year.

 

[Wendy1985]

I was not allowed to attend the circus as a kid my mom is big on animal rights

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Not a circus fan at all. I agree with the reasons already stated. A smaller county fair sounds like fun. I love that your library, PollyannaMom, does offer kids programs. Need more of those! Pea, I could not agree more!

I do vaguely remember seeing the Ice Capades as a kid. No memory of the actual show just that it was probably a Disney one

IMO, kids and families need to be spend less time on electronics and more quality time together whether it be a game night at home, picnic, church related, etc. Smaller and simpler fun often holds the most meaning and memory

 

[UnderneathAMagicMoon]

I think it depends on where you live. I grew up in a very small city and we had one local fair per year and one place to go for fireworks on the 4th of July, for example. Now I’m in the suburbs near a large city with a lot of small cities and townships surrounding it - there are a ton of activities. All the local communities do their own fireworks on the 4th, have their own fairs and festivals at different times in the year. There are egg hunts and berry picking in the spring, outdoor movies and family water parks (some through the state park system, so they’re not even a huge fee) in the summer, apple picking, Oktoberfest and pumpkin patches in the fall, and Christmas villages, walk through holiday light displays, holiday sing alongs, tree lighting festivals, and so on in the winter. I really appreciate that aspect of this area, there’s a ton of places to take my son. That’s not even counting stuff that is specifically kid (vs. family) entertainment, like indoor and outdoor playgrounds.

 

[HopperFan]

The circus world has basically become extinct. The modern version like Cirque is just not of much interest to children and tickets are too expensive.

Our Center of Puppetry still does lots of shows, children's museum etc and things like that are available but parents have to make the effort. It's just easier for some to place them in front of a computer, tv or video game.

I know Disney on Ice and other similar shows are on the return, I used to take my son he loved them. But that along with the Broadway on tour ................ the TICKETMASTER fees have made these things just priced beyond their worth. This also impacts things like children concerts - I'm not paying $60-75 for cheap seats for a kid's program we can watch on television.

I think the county fairs and carnivals are starting to return, but we never go to those for a variety of reasons. I have no idea if they are doing well.

Bottom line with COVID and our year plus of learning to entertain ourselves without having to go to these places I just don't think folks are ready to jump back in, or have shifted their dollars to other things.

 

[tvguy]

Not here, still lots of family entertainment . Cirque De Soleil is here currently. Earlier this year we had the Chocolate Festival. Last weekend we had the Garlic Festival. Earlier this month, The Lumineers were here along with Monster Jam. This weekend it was the Banana Festival. Foodieland food and entertainment festival is coming up. We had the State Fair and the County Fair.
Also coming up Michael Buble, The Who, Disney on Ice.
We haven't gone to many because there are just too darn expensive. Monster Jam started at $45. Cirque De Soleil starts at $39 and goes to $125 per person plus $15 parking.
The Chocolate Festival was only $10, and parking was free. The Garlic Festival charged $10 for parking, tickets were $10 for adults under 64, Senior Citizens were free.

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[Allison]

There is a lot of family entertainment around here. A circus full of animals thankfully doesn't exist anymore.

 

[bcla]

Feld Entertainment was the biggest operator of these kind of "family entertainment" stadium/arena shows. They still have Monster Jam and AMA Supercross, but I'm thinking their bread and butter right now is Disney on Ice. And they still own Ringling Bros although that's being revamped as previously noted. On top of that they produce Sesame Street Live and Marvel Universe Live.

https://www.feldentertainment.com/productions/

 

[wvjules]

Family shows are just different now. I'm glad the circus with live animals is gone.

We've gone to Disney on Ice, Cirque de Soiel (sp), fairs, balloon festivals, etc.

BTW, Did you take your cat to the vet to see why s/he is vomiting?

 

[Travel60]

DD and her family are constantly busy with events for the kids....their town has a university and they attend those basketball and baseball games and minor league baseball for practically nothing.

There are several farms and orchards with children's activities. Every year for Christmas I buy them a family pass to a nearby animal adventure park.

In the spring and fall practically every church and school has some kind of festival. There is also a train museum that offers specialty train rides (Halloween, Santa, etc.). Sometimes they just go hiking and the kids each have their own sports to play.

Very little TV or electronics.