So, the first thing I feel I need to do is apologize. The Carson & Barnes Circus took place in June in Griffith and I'm just now getting to the blog... I also will apologize for not remembering the names of the wonderful people that I met and talked to.
I will start this by saying that I am an animal lover. I witnessed the care and love for the animals at this circus first hand, along with the joy of the children that got to see them. I spent a lot of time watching the elephants as they ate their hay in their shaded canopied area. I had a wonderful conversation with the elephant trainer (apologizes again for forgetting his name). He spoke of these creatures like we would our own beloved pets. I do not believe a person could speak with such love and then "abuse them when no one is looking". He did have a training "stick", but it had no hook and I watched him use it to gently guide the elephants on which way to go. Not much different then we would use a leash on a dog...
By the way, proceeds from the circus go to the private non-profit Endangered Ark Foundation, a retirement ranch in Oklahoma that cares for circus elephants, and educates the public about the endangered Asian elephant. It's reason they tour every summer...
Have you ever heard the term "circus family"? From what I saw that day, it really is a family affair. As you will see in my photos, several performers had more then one talent, and performed in more than one act. They also took care of jobs outside of the show, as I talked to a ticket girl, and then later saw her perform!
Enough chit chat.... On with the show!
One of Griffith's own residents had the honor of opening the show! And on an elephant no less!!
Although I missed getting a photo, that was a very well trained REAL dog in a toy elephant costume! He was a cutie!
To add some excitement for the children, they incorporated a dino/prehistoric man show into the circus....
The next three photos were of his fast decent...
For those of you with any concerns, the elephants performed for only about 20 minutes or so. I'm guessing because they had a few shows over several days. I attended the last show before they moved on. They only other thing they did beyond what you see here is lay down. They did offer elephant rides before and after shows, and I don't think the elephants minded much, as I watched them eating the fresh grass as they wandered around... lol.
This was the last act. It was seriously a little crazy. While I didn't get a good photo of it, he was also jump roping on the outside of the wheel as the wheel spun!
The grand finale was a little thank you song by all the performers....
To learn more or to watch for dates visit
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