Am I lucky or what? I had the opportunity to interview the tour coordinator with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Super Circus Heroes! Plus I’m giving away 4 tickets to the show!
I don’t know about you but I’m always fascinated with the life of traveling performers & their staff. It seems like an amazing feat to travel the United States and organize a show from place to place, not to mention organizing TRULY the GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH! I guess I had always imaged those people as single, after all, I can’t image traveling like that with my family. Well quite to the contrary, Claire Redding – Tour Coordinator for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Super Circus Heroes, is a mom with a pretty normal life!
Oh and don’t forget to enter the contest to WIN a family 4 pack of tickets to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Super Circus Heroes performing live at the Wicomico Civic and Youth Center in Salisbury, Maryland from March 6th through the 9th here. Be sure to say “hello” because I’ll be there with my kids on opening night!
Maggie (me): Hi Claire – can you tell my readers a little but about what you do for Super Circus Heroes by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®?
Claire: I travel with the circus & I’m in charge of busing from city to city, getting hotels, flights and transportation. Normally we bus but sometimes we fly if it’s a long drive, I am in charge of meals for everybody too. Oh and I also help with public relations from place to place.
Maggie (me): How long have you been with the circus?
Claire: I have been with Ringling for 14 years, we travel with our 2 kids and husband – hubby is in circus and play in bands saxophone and he’s is also a conductor.
Maggie (me): You have kids and a husband traveling with you? (Shocked)
Claire: Oh yes! Caton & Ashton – Ringling Bros. is wonderful. We have 2 school teachers on staff for Rinlging that are employed by the company and the kids have school in a dressing room. They are guided through the curriculum and do normal things you like your family?
Maggie (me): Oh my goodness – so you really are kind of like me in that the circus tour group home schools their children too?
Claire: Yes – we’re just like everyone else. We use the Calvert curriculum and American for the high schoolers. Two school teachers travel with us. So they follow a home school curriculum – yes! We travel 43 to 48 weeks out of the year. Some still travel by train – ½ have own trailers and motorhomes.
Of the kids traveling with Circus Superheroes by Ringling – 12 kids in the unit. Some of them aren’t in school yet. Smallest is 2 years old. 3 out of the 12 that are not in school yet. We also have a nursery with Ringling too. Plus we all help each other here. We’re like family.
Sometimes we visit hospitals and do things with boys and girls clubs and big sisters.
Maggie (me): That is amazing! I’m a home school mom too and so are a thousand or so of my readers. I’ve VERY familiar with Calvert curriculum – It’s a tough curriculum. Wow – I’m amazed! You all home school your children, perform, travel and visit hospitals and help to raise the spirits of our community. How excited and what an incredible life!
Maggie (me): Can you tell me a little more about everyday life in the circus?
Claire: Lifestyle of circus – We still go to the grocery store except every week we’re in a different grocery store. We have a backyard it’s just a different backyard every year. We’re a big family and work together and many of us are close like a family. It’s a big family. We help each other with the kids, we celebrate holidays like everyone else. Its a big gathering and gather all the kids for Easter and have an egg hunt wherever we are. We dress our kids out for Halloween too. It really is a wonderful life.
Maggie (me): Thank you Claire. I’m am so excited to see the show coming to Salisbury next month! You’ve been great and I know my reader will love hearing about life with Ringling Bros.
******************************
A portion of ticket sales for Opening Night will be donated to the Bless Our Children campaign in partnership with WBOC and Cat Country Radio. What an awesome cause!!! All seats are reserved, and tickets are available at www.ringling.com, by phone at 410-548-4911 and the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center Box Office. I’ll see YOU opening night…… Oh and don’t forget the FREE pre-show!
Performance Schedule:
Thursday, March 6 7:30pm
Friday, March 7 7:30pm
Saturday, March 8 11am, 3:00pm, & 7:00pm
Sunday, March 9 1:00pm & 5:00pm
Leave a Reply