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Circus Comes To Town, With Some Trunks In Tow

Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN

Monday’s elephant strut was designed to whet appetites to see the new show, which is called “Over the Top.”

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 1, 2008

Updated: 12/31/2007 10:57 pm

TAMPA - Little Sara, at 5 feet and 3,000 pounds, seemed puny next to her gargantuan wrinkly aunts as they got off the train, locked trunks to tails, and began to march in a straight line down Nuccio Parkway.

Children from nearby Tampa Park apartments raced on bikes alongside the pachyderms on parade from Union Station to downtown Tampa, a tradition known as the Elephant Walk, which marks the official start of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

"They're very friendly," said animal handler Gleice Souza, a 39-year-old Brazilian dancer who rides the gentle giants in some of her performances. "I feel very safe. And they are having fun."

The 138th edition of The Greatest Show On Earth premieres Wednesday at the St. Pete Times Forum with a new theme: "Over The Top," which pits silliness against seriousness for a chance at the ring master's top hat.

"Clowns compete with the ring master," says circus spokeswoman Melinda Hartline of Tampa. "There's a constant struggle to control the hat. Whoever controls the hat controls the circus."

You can bet Ring Master Chuck Wagner, formerly the "Beast" in the Broadway musical "Beauty and the Beast," won't give up his reign easily, Hartline said.

From equestrian stunts to flying trapeze artists to motorcyclists balancing on the high wire, the circus aims to unleash heart-stopping feats.

Monday's elephant strut, complete with little piles of what Ringling insiders affectionately call "circus gold," was designed to whet appetites to see the new show, which debuts nationally in Tampa and continues for the next two years in other locations.

"We were headed for the aquarium," said Jacques Dumaresq, who sat with his wife, Anne, in their car with a camera at the ready to capture the unusual traffic snarl along Channelside Drive. "This is better."

Trolley No. 428, filled with tourists getting their money's worth during a ride to Ybor City, stopped in its tracks as Sara and six other Asian elephants crossed the shiny car's path.

Six-year-old Sara is the 10th elephant born at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk County. She's the tiniest in the parade, led by circus matriarch Karen, a 36-year-old, 9,000-pound, 7-foot-tall grand dame.

"She's our lead dog," Hartline said.

The circus starts Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. show and ends Sunday with two afternoon shows. Tickets range from $15 to $85 and are available at Ticketmaster outlets and the Forum box office; or by phone at (813) 287-8844 or (727) 898-2100. For information, go to www.ringling.com.

Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144 or sackerman@tampatrib.com.

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