Vintage Circus

Come One, Come All - the Circus is In Town!

Check out this PartyWithBeistle.com post on using our Vintage Circus decorations

Did you know? 12 fun facts about the circus.

1. World Circus Day is the 3rd Saturday of April.
2. The word Circus dates from Roman times when arenas like the Circus Maximus held chariot races, gladiatorial contests and mock battle.
3. The circus we know today was created in England by Philip Astley, trick horse-rider , who opened his Amphitheatre of Equestrian Arts in 1768.
4. A standard circus ring is 42 feet in diameter.
5. Clowns are nicknamed "Joeys" after 19th century pantomime star Joseph Grimaldi.
6. Leotards are named after the first star of the flying trapeze, Jules Leotard.
7. The word jumbo entered the English language because of an 11-foot-tall elephant named Jumbo that PT Barnum bought from London Zoo.
8. Enrico Rastelli (1896 - 1931) is considered the greatest juggler of all time, he could juggle ten balls at once.
9. The first American circus was founded in Philadelphia in 1793 by John Bill Ricketts.
10. It's unlucky to wear green in the ring according to circus superstition.
11. The mischievous clown in a two-clown act is called the 'auguste' and the straight man is the 'whiteface'.
12. Joshua Purdy Brown staged the first circus in a tent or big top in America in 1825.

Easy clown face painting: