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The Great Circus Parade is a parade of
"Great Circus Parade: 'In Chicago, all your chairs would be gone'"
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel July 11, 2009. The animals and wagons were on display at Veteran’s Park in Milwaukee for several days before the parade. The parade followed a course from Milwaukee’s lakefront on Lake Michigan through Milwaukee’s downtown. The founder's nephew, Bill Fox, helped raise funds for the 2009 event, and he expects the event to be held every two to three years to allow time for fund raising.
History of the Great Circus ParadeOfficial donation websiteThe Circus Parade at Old Milwaukee Days
July 4, 1969 {{coord, 43, 02, 25.5, N, 87, 53, 56.2, W, type:event_region:US-WI, display=title Culture of Milwaukee Tourist attractions in Sauk County, Wisconsin Parades in the United States Tourist attractions in Milwaukee Baraboo, Wisconsin
The Great Circus Parade is a parade of marching band
A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...
s, circus wagons, clowns, performers, and animals. Between 1963 and 2009, it has been held 30 times in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
and a few times in Chicago
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and Baraboo, Wisconsin
Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is situ ...
. A fundraiser for the Circus World Museum
The Circus World Museum is a museum complex in Baraboo, Wisconsin, devoted to circus-related history. The museum features circus artifacts and exhibits and hosts daily live circus performances throughout the summer. It is owned by the Wisconsin Hi ...
, the parade typically draws hundreds of thousands of attendees. The parade recreates how people in the late 19th century and early 20th century gathered along stops on a circus's route to see whether a circus was worth viewing.
Exhibits
The parade featurescircus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
wagons and animals from the Circus World Museum
The Circus World Museum is a museum complex in Baraboo, Wisconsin, devoted to circus-related history. The museum features circus artifacts and exhibits and hosts daily live circus performances throughout the summer. It is owned by the Wisconsin Hi ...
in Baraboo, Wisconsin
Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is situ ...
and marching bands from Wisconsin. The animals and wagons travel from Baraboo to the parade locale on special circus train
A circus train is a method of conveyance for circus troupes. One of the larger users of circus trains was the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (RBBX), a famous American circus formed when the Ringling Brothers Circus purchased the Ba ...
s. Baraboo is the original 1884 home of the Ringling Brothers Circus
Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a Ge ...
.
The 2009 parade exhibited 50 circus wagons, between 250 and 400 horses, and 30 bands on a two-hour long route. The chief parade clown, Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...
, commented that he saw "nothing but miles and miles of smiles."
History
The Great Circus Parade was founded by Chappie Fox and Ben Barkin and first held inMilwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
in 1963. It continued annually in Milwaukee until 1973. Between 1980 and 2005, it was held in Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
, Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
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or Baraboo, Wisconsin
Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is situ ...
. No parade was held between 2006 and 2008.
The parade resumed in 2009, returning to Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
on July 12, after a six-year hiatus, after organizers raised $1.5 million. The 2009 parade celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Circus World Museum
The Circus World Museum is a museum complex in Baraboo, Wisconsin, devoted to circus-related history. The museum features circus artifacts and exhibits and hosts daily live circus performances throughout the summer. It is owned by the Wisconsin Hi ...
.Stephenson, Crocke"Great Circus Parade: 'In Chicago, all your chairs would be gone'"
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel July 11, 2009. The animals and wagons were on display at Veteran’s Park in Milwaukee for several days before the parade. The parade followed a course from Milwaukee’s lakefront on Lake Michigan through Milwaukee’s downtown. The founder's nephew, Bill Fox, helped raise funds for the 2009 event, and he expects the event to be held every two to three years to allow time for fund raising.
See also
* Showman's wagonsReferences
External links
History of the Great Circus Parade
July 4, 1969 {{coord, 43, 02, 25.5, N, 87, 53, 56.2, W, type:event_region:US-WI, display=title Culture of Milwaukee Tourist attractions in Sauk County, Wisconsin Parades in the United States Tourist attractions in Milwaukee Baraboo, Wisconsin