When I was a kid, it was a long standing annual tradition until I graduated from middle school to head to Madison Square garden with my parents and sis to see the circus. I remember insisting on getting my face painted to resemble the clowns (and crying because it would drip in my eyes by the end of the show) making sure that I had one of those twirling light gizmos and cotton candy on hand that never made it to intermission.
It's got to be almost seven years since we'd last been to the circus with our oldest CJ, so I can't even begin to tell you how excited our two monsters, ages 10 and 4 had been when we showed them a commercial for opening night at The Barclays Center of Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Presents Circus XTREME.
Anytime our youngest caught a glimmer of it, he'd jump up and down through our apartment and continuously ask if that particular day was "THE" day we'd see the show. I don't think that tiny body of his could contain all the excitment he'd been holding onto for days & I ended up putting him down for a nap that afternoon because he was driving me insane as he counted down until we headed to Brooklyn.
We transferred to the B train from Queens to get to the 6pm All Access pre-show (free with your ticket an hour before showtime) but got stalled for nearly twenty minutes underground, leaving me probably more frustrated then the kids to miss out on such an awesomely unique experience, where you get to head down to the ring and meet the performers, try on costumes, watch a painting pachyderm create a masterpiece and see a few of the acts up close. Get there EARLY!
Feeling refreshed, our 4 year old was literally pulling the hubby towards the Barclay Center because he didn't want to miss anything (that's them in the above left photo: Tristan wearing a color-blocked black and green coat, and the hubby giving me the side eye to hurry up).
From exotic, beautiful Mongolian elephants and daring BMX trick riders to a fearless human cannonball who flies gracefully overhead, kids of all ages will find themselves in awe & at the edge of their seats as they try not to miss a single exhilarating moment. Every few minutes you could see Tristan pointing, and another adorable blogger kid screaming from the seat behind us "Mommy, Mommy, look! look!" as they were completely mesmerized by the performers in the ring.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Presents Circus XTREME is a more modern and thrilling, live entertainment show that mixes extreme sports and acrobatics, with a menagerie of animals, dazzling lights and fun music.
Tristan was extremely focused on counting each of the high - wire wizards as they bravely balanced on each others shoulders above the audience.
The human cannonball was pretty amazing to witness, honestly it happened so fast I couldn't get myself together quick enough to get video of her breezing by above the crowd, CJ kept asking for a replay, and still watches the video on IG that Scherrie (ThirtyMommy) managed to score.
Some of the best entertainment by far was watching the elephants get silly as they showed off their tricks, dance moves and played a few rounds of toss the beach ball with the giggling crowd.
Without a doubt, no circus show would be as good if there wasn't some cool music to get the audience dancing in their seats. Our monsters have dance parties and create their own playlists all the time at home, so when the high energy dogs and their trainers came out and wagged their tails to Taylor Swifts "Shake it Off", Bruno Mar's "Uptown Funk" and a handful of other top hits, they couldn't resist clapping and tapping their feet to the beats.
My blogger babes Nicole (The Bronx Mama) and Nellie (Brooklyn Active Mama) brought their families along, and everyone was all smiles as we watched some of the most extreme stunts wrap up the end of the night.
What do you most look forward to seeing when going to the circus?
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey presents Circus Xtreme is definitely a fun night out with family and friends, so don't miss out on all the Xcitement. The show will be playing at The Barclay Center until March 1st. For the National tour schedule and to learn more about the show, head to Ringling.com and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!
Disclosure: We received 4 tickets to facilitate this review & the opinions expressed are 100% my own. No other compensation was given.
To this day my kids have never seen the circus. I need to change that. I know they would both love it.
ReplyDeleteNice! I am 57 years old, and I've never been to a circus like that. I'm sure it's an amazing thing to see. I think this is bucket list thing to do. I'm sure my grandkids would love to see one.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a total blast! I haven't been to a circus since I was a little kid. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteWe haven't been to a circus in years. They're always so much fun to see! This one looks like it was amazing.
ReplyDeleteWow! This sounds like SO much fun! What a fun adventure!
ReplyDeleteThere aren't many family outings more fun than a circus! Looks like everyone had an amazing time!
ReplyDeleteThe circus is something I never experienced as a child. I am going to change that for my kids, and make sur ethey go!
ReplyDeleteWow they really know how to impress with their acts! I haven't been to a Ringling Bros show in a long time.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like so much fun! I remember going to the circus when I was a little girl and would love to take my son sometime.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to a circus, but I would love to go! This looks like so much fun! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat an AWESOME event. I would totally love to go to this one.
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I have been to the circus twice in my life. The last time was 5 years ago when my son was in kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you all had a great time at the circus. I don't mind going to a circus, so long as they don't have animals. Just a personal preference.
ReplyDeletewhat a great experience! I have always wanted to go see this circus. I didn't know they were in NY. I am on the east coast. I will have to see where they are right now.
ReplyDeleteI have not been to a circus in about 20 years (for moral reasons dealing with animal cruelty). Ringling Brothers is known for their amazing productions though and I'm sure this was an amazing day! The kids looked like they had a ton of fun!! :)
ReplyDeleteIt does look really fun, and I imagine those elephants were a sight! I laughed at your hubby's side eye. I so know that look. ;)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a great time!!! I need to take my princess to a circus .)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have a great time!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you all enjoyed yourselves. I love the show with the elephants. They are def one of my favorite animals.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved the circus. They are always so much fun with the family.
ReplyDeleteWe love the Circus! I used to take the kids every year, but we switched to every other year just so the kids wouldn't get tired of it. Always a good time.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a lot of fun. I remember going to the circus when I was little. It's a great family activity!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun and exciting outing> i've always loved the circus but now that my kids are older I don't go. I might do it again.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, this looks super fun! I so want to go with my family too.
ReplyDeleteI used to love going to the circus when I was a kid. If I close my eyes I can still smell the awesomeness!
ReplyDeleteThat looks so cool. I will definitely need to get out and take a look at the circus next time they are in town. Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to a circus and I so need to change that before I have kids. This looks so awesome I am so jealous.
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