An Evening At The Shrine Circus

 One of the things about having a writing gig and working from home is that I can schedule special events where we don't have to go out in the evenings. A trip to the zoo? We head out when the zoo opens at 9am. A trip to the movies? We are there for the first showing of the day at 10:30am. A trip to the Barnum & Bailey Circus? We are in our seats before 11am.

 So why did we go to the Shrine Circus at 7pm? It was opening night and the seats were less expensive. They were only playing a 3-night gig. If we showed up on the second or third night, it would have cost twice as much for the same seats. But the only show available was the 7pm one. So that is when we ventured into downtown Pittsburgh.

There were clowns everywhere. The Overlord was nervous about meeting them, yet then again she is still shy of people as she places her face into my shirt. Yet, we walked up to almost every clown. And every clown who asked for a "high-five" from the Overlord received one from her.

Perhaps the one thing different about the Shrine Circus from other events is the really high pressure selling. You couldn't get anything cheap, not even the programs that were 4 bucks each. Before the show, during the admission, and after the show they set up rides. Kids could get their face painted, ride on a small train, jump on a bouncy slide, go on a camel/pony/elephant ride (I'm talking about the ACTUAL animals -- not on plastic ones) for a price. I guess this is how the Shrine Circus funds its trips across the country and pays the actors. Yet they could have skipped asking the audience, during the show, to buy the overpriced trinkets hocked by the sellers going up and down the aisles. That was a bit too much.

The acts were amazing. Lions -- and house cats -- doing tricks. People doing acrobatics in the air. Bears dancing Gangnum style. And a gigantic crossbow that launched a flaming guy through the air. We had front row seats, and it was worth the price. The only downside was the two boys sitting behind us who fidgeted and rolled about in their seats. They were there to see Spiderman. They didn't want to see anything else. But overall, it was a fun time. Got there at 7pm and got home a little after 11pm.