...to join the circus this weekend. I'd heard that one was passing by not too far from the Stinky Town borders, so off I went. I've always loved the road and those who live on it - even part time - are inspiring. In particular, I went in search of the black sheep of the traveling circus: the sideshow...
As I wandered through the vast fairgrounds, I wondered WHY they always put the livestock exhibits near the food vendors. But who doesn't like the smell of fried dough and Italian sausage mixing in the air with sheep dung and diesel fumes spilling over from the grandstand racetracks?
Baked potatoes, pizza slices, candied apples, apple dumplings, ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn, knishes, onion blossoms, funnel cake, chocolate covered bananas with or without sprinkles, donuts, homemade fudge, french fries with salt & vinegar... all pass by in people's hands.
After spotting the sideshow on the map, I took a shortcut through the arts & crafts barn - often the best and most sincere of all the fair exhibits.
I inevitably found myself amok in the no-man's land of stuff that can only be found at local fairs or along the margins of flea markets. Surrounded by endless rows of Slipknot Ts, leather wristbands and "authentic" dream-catchers, I spotted an exit with bright lights beyond...
Screams of teenage girls high above aboard the Ferris Wheel, Avalanche and Zipper (my all-time favorite) finally lead me to a back lot of the fair, just northeast of the rumbling midway...
"World's Smallest Horse," "Monster Rat: Alive!" and "Giant Man-Eating Alligator." All the signs told me that I was in the right neighborhood...
Finally, I saw the bright banners of the World of Wonders Sideshow and heard the same voice that thousands of other carnival-goers have heard for the past 61 years...
Ward Hall! Known as the "King of the Sideshow," Hall has been involved with the mobile circus since he was 13 (first official gig: clown). Recently emerged from retirement, Hall operates what is said to be the last traveling sideshow in the country. He's had many freak show greats on his stage, including "Priscilla the Monkey Girl," "Sealo the Seal Boy" and "Abdul the Arabian Giant."
Today, on the inside of the tent, the freaks of the past have been replaced by young fire-eaters, sword-swallowers and contortionists...
And the occasional illusion of the born freak of yester-year, like the "Tarantula Woman" or "Cobra Girl!"
Some things haven't changed though: like the classic "pickled punks" (for the extra cost of only $1.00) behind the back curtain...
And Pete Terhurne who, for over five decades, has been performing around the United States with Hall as "Poo-Bah the Fire-Eating Pygmy."
Although Hall told me that, due to the rainy weather, it was a "slow day," I counted more than 50 curious folks paying $2 per head to enter the sideshow tent in under an hour. Not bad for a "dying pastime."
However, in the end, I fell asleep in the bleachers watching the Pennsylvania monster truck tournament. When I awoke the next morning in a cold puddle of melted ice cream and beer, the circus had left town with the World of Wonders Sideshow in tow. They must be in Georgia by now... Maybe next year?
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